Pharmacies have smashed a target to deliver more blood pressure checks in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.

Community pharmacies have delivered 11,919 blood pressure checks in the first six months of the ‘Know Your Numbers and Take Action’ campaign.

The campaign is led by NHS Cornwall and Isles of Scilly in partnership with Healthy Cornwall, Public Health, Cornwall Library Services, the Integrated Community Stroke Service (ICSS), local GP surgeries and community pharmacies.

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Checks have also been completed in other community settings such as pop-up clinics, with 529 completed in local libraries and 328 at Cornwall Council offices.

Over 15,000 blood pressure checks have been completed in total since the campaign launched in September.

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Its aim is to encourage people to check their blood pressure and targeted 10,000 checks to be completed within a year, but now the target has been lifted to attempt 20,000 checks.

Community Pharmacy Cornwall chief executive Nick Kaye said it’s been a success, with most of the checks coming through hypertension case-finding service (HCFS).

NHS Cornwall senior clinical pharmacist Amanda Fidelis said pharmacies had been “vital” to the campaign’s success and the checks have been “a simple step that could make a huge difference”.

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It follows the Integrated Community Stroke Service reporting one in three people tested for high blood pressure in the last 12 months.

NHS Cornwall and Isles of Scilly called for local employers, sports clubs and community groups to contact Healthy Cornwall if they want to book a blood pressure check for their organisations, especially if they support people over the age of 40.

The ICB’s chief place and transformation officer Dr Chris Reid praised beating the target and it “shows just how hard partners have worked to reach people” as the campaign aims “to make blood pressure checks as routine as brushing your teeth”.

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It comes as the HCFS and the pharmacy contraception service have had their funding combined with Pharmacy First into the “core community pharmacy contractual framework (CPCF) sum” in last week’s funding announcement.

One football manager called on fans to get blood pressure checks at a local pharmacy to deal with a “stressful” end of season run-in.