Residents across mid and south Essex can now borrow blood pressure monitors for free from Essex County Council’s 74 libraries and two mobile libraries.
The blood pressure loan scheme launched on Tuesday 9 September to coincide with Blood Pressure UK’s Know Your Numbers Week. The monitors can be borrowed by anyone aged 18 years and over from an Essex County Council library, no GP referral needed, for up to two weeks.
Each loan pack includes a monitor, cuff, diary, and guidance leaflet. No booking is required, monitors are available on a first come, first served basis.
As well as take home monitors, 15 libraries are hosting freestanding monitors for walk-in use. This means residents can pop in and check and print their blood pressure readings instantly.
The 15 libraries are:
- Braintree
- Colchester (from November when the library reopens)
- Chelmsford
- Harlow
- Rayleigh
- Loughton
- Saffron Walden
- Brentwood
- Billericay
- Maldon
- Clacton
- Basildon
- Witham
- Canvey
- South Woodham Ferrers
We’re proud to be working with Essex County Council and our colleagues across other Integrated Care Boards in the East of England to support and promote this innovative scheme. By sharing clinical expertise and working in partnership, we can take a unified approach to finding and managing high blood pressure.
This initiative is an excellent example of local partnership working to tackle health inequalities across mid and south Essex, utilising existing familiar, local resources to support residents’ health and wellbeing.
Dr Anita Pereira, GP at Laindon Medical Group and System Clinical Lead for Prevention, Personalisation, and Population Health Management, NHS Mid and South Essex
The initiative was prompted by a successful loan scheme in Suffolk libraries led by NHS Suffolk and North East Essex ICB. Both the Suffolk and North East Essex ICB and Mid and South Essex ICB attended the launch at Chelmsford Library.
We are committed to helping people in Essex easily and quickly access resources to help improve their health. This scheme makes it easy and convenient for people who may be worried about their blood pressure to check their numbers, without having to book a GP appointment. All 74 libraries will have kits available, so wherever you are in the county you will be able to get one if you need one.
Councillor John Spence, Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, Adult Social Care, Public Health and Integration, Essex County Council
Councillor Mark Durham, Cabinet Member for Libraries at Essex County Council, also attended the launch.
It’s great to see our library spaces being utilised to help improve health in Essex. Our libraries are in the heart of our communities and are often safe spaces for many, which makes them the perfect place for this scheme.
Councillor Mark Durham, Cabinet Member for Libraries, Essex County Council
Please note this scheme is only available in Essex County Council libraries. It is not currently offered in Southend or Thurrock libraries.
Visit the Essex Libraries webpage to find out about the blood pressure loan scheme