Get your blood pressure tested while at school parents’ evening

TEACHERS could carry out blood pressure tests during parents’ evenings or at the school gates under radical plans aimed at preventing almost 25,000 heart attacks and strokes.

Firefighters and office workers will also be trained to carry out tests, in a bid to identify people who are at risk of the killer diseases, while shoppers could have their blood pressure checked at supermarket tills.

Under the NHS proposals local planners will be encouraged to find “creative ways” to carry out checks on those in middle age instead of relying on them to turn up at GP surgeries.

In some areas, firefighters will be instructed to carry out blood pressure checks when they are carrying out home visits or testing smoke alarms. Supermarkets will be asked to consider offering updates printed on the back of till receipts, health officials said. Companies will be asked to install automated blood pressure machines, or to train a member of staff to take regular tests.

GPS were sceptical, saying that too many “blanket checks” risked overdiagnosis, heaping pressures on services. Patient groups said health checks should be performed by those with medical expertise. Teachers’ leaders also criticised the plans. Nansi Ellis, assistant general secretary at the National Education Union, said: “While this is an important issue, teachers couldn’t possibly carry out health checks at parent evenings or school gates.

“Whoever came up with this suggestion clearly has no idea of the current pressure teachers and school staff are placed under. They are trained to teach children and young people – not substitute for healthcare professionals.”

The three-year plan by NHS England and Public Health England (PHE) aims to prevent 14,500 strokes and almost 10,000 heart attacks.

Officials said 44 NHS “sustainability and transformation partnerships”, which work with local authorities, will be asked to find ways to identify those who at risk from “the invisible killer”. In total, 5.5million people in England have undiagnosed high blood pressure. NHS England said that identifying cases earlier, encouraging lifestyle changes and medication to protect against heart disease, could save thousands of lives.

‘Teachers are trained to teach children and young people – not substitute for healthcare professionals’

Professor Duncan Selbie, PHE chief executive, said: “High blood pressure is the invisible killer. We want people to be as familiar with their blood pressure numbers as they are with their credit card PIN or their height.

“We want to get people talking about their blood pressure at supermarkets, making it normal to have your number on your till receipts. You could do it at the till. With technology, it’s so easy.”

Workplaces would also be encouraged to introduce checks, given that healthier workers were more productive. “Sixty per cent of your waking hours are spent in the workplace. It’s a fantastic place to do this stuff,” added Prof Selbie.