About the Shropshire Community Blood Pressure Checks Project
The Shropshire Blood Pressure Checks Project has recruited over 30 volunteers, within English and Bulgarian groups, to raise awareness of the symptoms and risks of cardiovascular disease (CVD) within local communities.
The project hosts between 20-30 pop ups each month across Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin, with an aim to raise awareness of the symptoms and risks of cardiovascular disease (CVD) within high-risk local communities.
Who can be a Shropshire Community Blood Pressure Check volunteer?
Anyone can be a volunteer! If you’re enthusiastic and friendly, with a passion to help improve health conditions for your local community, becoming a Shropshire Community Blood Pressure Check volunteer may be for you.
Whilst we have a great team of volunteers already, many of whom are from clinical backgrounds, we’re looking for more people from all communities, age groups, ethnicities and backgrounds to join the project team. Whether you have worked in health care in the past, have lived experience of high blood pressure, or no experience at all, we’d love to meet you! Full training will be provided to anyone who joins the team.
What does a Shropshire Community Blood Pressure Check volunteer do?
Our volunteers are trained to encourage the sensitive and respectful discussion and sharing of knowledge about cardiovascular disease (CVD), what the risk factors are and what action can be taken to reduce them.
Volunteers provide reassuring detail and guidance on what a blood pressure check involves, deliver checks, and sign post people to their local GP or community pharmacist where appropriate.
Blood Pressure Checking Pop Ups
We have Blood Pressure Checking Pop Ups all over the county, with the locations of these changing frequently, the best way to find out about them is to contact Blood Pressure Champion Coordinator, Jo Longetti by calling 01691 656882 or emailing j.longetti@qube-oca.org.uk.
Alternatively, if you’re in the Oswestry area, we offer a self-checking Blood Pressure Service from Oswestry Library. You can loan a Blood Pressure Machine using your library card for a maximum of nine days to allow for seven-day monitoring. Please ask the staff at the library if you wish to do this and they can assist.
Words from Jo
The project launched August 2023, with a pilot pop-up at OCA in Oswestry. Thanks to the excellent response from the various communities around Shropshire, we have organised popups in all the major towns and even ventured into smaller more rural villages and smaller towns, offering blood pressure checks to people who would normally not have access to primary care services in their local area. I have enjoyed training and working with the volunteers and am proud to say we now have over 30 champions. I am always touched by their enthusiasm and dedication.
Another great part of my job is hearing from people who have used the service and have been alerted to the need to investigate their blood pressure result further by accessing the 7-day monitoring at their GP or community pharmacy. They are always full of praise for the service and particularly the relationship with the volunteers.