Blood Pressure Monitors Launch In Libraries Across Devon
You can now borrow a blood pressure monitor at your local library!
The 'One Devon' initiative, led by Devon County Council Public Health, Libraries Unlimited and NHS Devon ICB, was launched on 8th September, as part of the local Check Your Blood Pressure campaign to mark Know Your Numbers! Week.
Over 50 libraries in Devon now have blood pressure kits which can be borrowed for up to three weeks. The kits include a monitor, a simple instruction leaflet, a blood pressure diary to record the readings, and advice on what to do if numbers are high. The aim is to encourage more people to regularly check their blood pressure at home – and submit their reading to their local surgery – as it could save their life.
Devon GP Dr Kay Brennan, the Strategic Clinical Advisor in Long Term Conditions, NHS Devon, said:
"One in three adults in the UK have raised blood pressure but many don't realise it… But the good news is there are small everyday choices that we can make to help bring it down. The only way to find out if you have high blood pressure is through a blood pressure check. Getting this done is easy and can improve the quality of your life. High blood pressure can develop due to a variety of factors… Everyone's situation is different, and understanding these factors can help support better blood pressure management."
Iain Harris, 54, used his local library's blood pressure monitor as part of an earlier Devon pilot scheme and he said the new service will be hugely beneficial to library users.
He said:
"I have no doubt they will reveal important hidden health issues for many people and will hopefully prompt healthy changes for those that can, and potentially life-saving medication for those that need it. It was upsetting but it was the nudge I needed to make changes. I made appointments at my health centre, and they sent me a chart to monitor my blood pressure so that I could seek further advice and consider medication if it remained high. As soon as I adopted lifestyle changes it came down drastically. It was the wake up call I needed. I would have carried on my habitual ways and not taken steps to improve my health without it."
Read Iain's full story here
It's important to know your readings; it allows you to make lifestyle changes or start taking medicines if required to help bring your blood pressure down.
Councillor Cheryl Cottle-Hunkin, Devon County Council's Cabinet Member responsible for public health, communities and libraries, said:
"High blood pressure is extremely serious but many either don't know they have it or have the means to check it. Libraries are the perfect places to provide this service; over the past few years the importance and value of libraries as community and social hubs has significantly increased; it's where parents take their children to Lego club on Saturday mornings, it's where you can access online services; they host community fridges and offer safe warm spaces when the winter nights draw in. And now, as easily as taking out a book, you can now borrow a monitor to check your blood pressure at home. Its quick and easy."
More information about the Check Your Blood Pressure campaign can be found on the NHS Devon website.
