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Call me suspicious but was a motion to end community pharmacy blood pressure (BP) checks, passed at the Local Medical Committee (LMC) conference in November 2024, and NHS England’s (NHSE) announcement last month that BP tests in pharmacies will be limited, coincidental? 

The question has to be asked, despite the Department of Health and Social Care’s insistence that the update to the community pharmacy hypertension case finding service, which restricts patients to one BP check every five years, was made jointly with NHSE and “in collaboration with Community Pharmacy England (CPE)”.

I have another question. Did the British Medical Association (BMA), renowned for its lobbying prowess, privately get on to the government about BP checks in pharmacies?

I honestly don’t know. The BMA failed to clear that up when I asked them on August 17. “Due to tight scheduling constraints and capacity among the GPC officers yesterday and this morning, we aren't in a position to offer you a comment for this piece on this occasion,” came their response the next day.

A one-sentence response along the lines of ‘we did not lobby the government’ wouldn’t have been arduous. Then again, perhaps I’m being too cynical. NICE guidelines are clear, although NICE should not be beyond criticism. It’s been accused down the years of denying people potentially life-saving treatment, remember.

CPE pointedly said patients who haven’t been diagnosed with hypertension but seek regular BP measurements “represents a sub-optimal use of NHS funding”. Nonetheless, there is concern. The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) described the change as a “retrograde step” and insisted it will “hinder the drive to cut heart disease and stroke”.

When I asked NHSE whether restricting BP checks in pharmacies was irresponsible and if they were influenced by the BMA, they emailed me to say “we’ll get back asap”. But they never did.

Personally, I think the restriction is utter madness. It will put people’s lives at risk and I agree with the NPA’s call for a full impact assessment.

By the way, as a journalist, I don’t believe scheming occurs in healthcare. Not one bit. Honest.

Neil Trainis is the editor of Independent Community Pharmacist.