Plans to limit patient blood pressure tests in pharmacies could lead to undiagnosed heart issues, pharmacy leaders warn NHS.

New regulations, which limit potentially life-changing NHS blood pressure checks in pharmacies, are a “retrograde step” that will hinder the drive to cut heart disease and stroke, the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) has said.

From next month, NHS England plans to impose a limit on NHS blood pressure tests in pharmacies, meaning that patients will only be permitted to have a test every five years.

The NPA, which represents around 6,000 pharmacies across the UK, warned that the change could leave people with undiagnosed heart or cardiovascular problems and that the change flies in the face of efforts to improve prevention in the health service. It also called for a full impact assessment to be carried out before changes are implemented.

“Imposing a five-year limit on pharmacies’ ability to check blood pressure will undermine the government’s ambition to promote health prevention and could leave health problems undiagnosed. It’s a clear retrograde step that flies in the face of efforts to prevent disease,” said Henry Gregg, chief executive of the National Pharmacy Association.

“Pharmacies need the freedom to make public health interventions without constantly worrying about whether they will be reimbursed for their work. If some people are checked more frequently than every five years, that is a small price to pay. We need to focus on the real risk – which is people walking around not knowing that they are at an increased risk of an early heart attack or stroke,” he added.