NHS Expands Free Cholesterol Checks to 100 Pharmacies

NHS England will expand free, rapid cholesterol checks to approximately 100 community pharmacies across England starting this autumn, following a successful pilot in north London that found one in five participants were at high risk of heart attack or stroke within the next decade. The initiative, part of a broader push to shift preventive care into community settings, aims to identify cardiovascular risk in people who may otherwise remain undiagnosed.

The program offers a quick, fingerprick blood test that analyzes a person's cholesterol profile in about seven minutes. Eligible individuals are those aged 40 to 84 who are not pregnant and have not had a blood test in the past year. Patients can walk into participating pharmacies for the test, which will also include a blood pressure check. Results will be sent by email, and pharmacists will discuss lifestyle changes, refer patients for further assessment when needed, and consider cholesterol-lowering treatment where appropriate.

The expansion follows a pilot program led by Barts Health NHS Trust in collaboration with UCLPartners and HEART UK. Between January 2025 and March 2026, the program tested 2,493 patients across 61...