NICHS offers lifesaving blood pressure checks and launches health programme in Ballymena

(L-R) Ronny McFall, Tesco Community Champion, Colin Crawford MLA, Neil Johnston and Karina Scott, NICHS.

Northern Ireland Chest Heart & Stroke (NICHS) has brought its lifesaving blood pressure awareness campaign to the people of Ballymena, offering free checks to shoppers at Tesco and launching a new health initiative aimed at tackling health inequalities in the community.

The campaign comes in response to the staggering number of people living with undetected high blood pressure in Northern Ireland — a condition which significantly increases the risk of heart attacks and strokes.

“Over 280,000 people, or around 1 in 5 of the adult population in Northern Ireland, are living with high blood pressure,” said Cathy Chambers, Community Health Promotion Manager at NICHS. “But there is a significant number of people, around 120,000, who have high blood pressure and do not realise it.

“Shockingly, this means at least a quarter of the adult population here live with high blood pressure. This gives us great cause for concern due to the link between high blood pressure with heart attacks and strokes.”

The Hidden Danger: ‘The Silent Killer’

High blood pressure, often dubbed ‘The Silent Killer’, typically presents no warning signs or physical symptoms. As Cathy explained, “Undetected high blood pressure is often known as ‘The Silent Killer’ due to the fact it rarely causes any physical symptoms or warning signs and is often only discovered after someone suffers a stroke or heart attack.”

Cathy continued, “The only way to know what your blood pressure is, and if it is high, is to have it measured and that is what we are urging the public to do through our campaign.”

During their visit to Tesco Ballymena, NICHS provided free blood pressure checks to local shoppers.

“We were delighted to have the opportunity to visit Tesco Ballymena to give shoppers an opportunity to have a free blood pressure check,” said Cathy. “The checks carried out really could have helped save someone’s life.”

(L-R) Ronny McFall, Tesco Community Champion, Philip McGuigan MLA, Neil Johnston and Karina Scott, NICHS.

The charity also thanked the store for its support.

“We would like to say a huge thank you to Tesco Ballymena, in particular Ronny McFall the store’s Community Champion, for supporting our blood pressure campaign and helping us bring this vital service to the local community.”

NICHS will continue to offer free pop-up checks throughout May and June. “The NICHS website and social media channels will have all the details about the pop-up checks so please follow us online for more information,” Chambers advised.

New Community Health Programme Targets Ballymena Areas

Beyond awareness, NICHS is rolling out a broader initiative aimed at long-term community health improvement, especially in underserved areas of Ballymena including Ballykeel, Ballee and Harryville.

“NICHS is committed to contributing to a reduction in health inequalities, and to bringing resources and activities to local communities that encourage steps to healthier lifestyles,” said Cathy.

Following extensive research into health disparities, the charity identified these areas for a targeted pilot intervention.

“We conducted extensive research, reviewing national and local statistics and wider evidence to identify underserved communities in Northern Ireland. This research led us to identify Ballymena, and in particular Ballykeel, Ballee and Harryville, as areas for piloting a targeted health intervention programme.”

The pilot, which began several months ago, has already made a measurable impact. “We have delivered 449 health checks at local partners’ sites to date and 39% of people who availed of the checks were signposted to their GP. In some areas this rate was as high as 60%. This showed significant need within these areas.”

Introducing the ‘Well Community Programme’

NICHS was at Tesco Ballymena recently as part of the charity’s current blood pressure awareness campaign.

Building on the pilot’s success, NICHS has now officially launched the Well Community Programme — a two-part initiative designed to support both groups and individuals in making healthier lifestyle choices.

“The Well Group Programme is an interactive, fun and engaging four-week programme which is tailored to the needs of the individual group taking part,” said Cathy. “It includes activities like nutrition and cooking workshops, physical activity programmes, our Well Mind programme, health checks, and more.”

The aim is to empower individuals and reduce risk factors.

“Through the Well Group Programme, we want to help educate people on chest, heart and stroke risk factors as well as prevention, reduce social isolation, promote healthier lifestyle choices, empower behaviour change and increase the early detection of health conditions.”

Those who complete the group programme may go on to join the Well You Personal Behaviour Change Programme, a free one-year initiative involving one-to-one coaching with trained health promotion professionals. “The individual sets the goals for their health, and we support and motivate them to achieve them,” said Cathy.

Get Involved

NICHS is encouraging local individuals and organisations in Ballykeel, Ballee and Harryville to take part in the Well Community Programme.

“Through the Well Community Programme, we are looking forward to working with the people, community groups, and partner organisations of Ballykeel, Ballee and Harryville and to playing our part in making a positive difference to health in these communities,” Cathy concluded.

“We would love to hear from local residents, clubs and groups who would be interested in getting involved with our Well Community Programme.”

For more information or to register interest, contact:

wellcommunity@nichs.org.uk