To ask the Minister of Health for an update on work being carried out to encourage the availability and uptake of blood pressure testing in community pharmacies.

I am happy to inform the member that the Department of Health published a new Strategic Plan for Community Pharmacy on 7 May 2024. The plan aims to fully realise the potential of community pharmacy services to support better health outcomes from medicines and prevent illness. Implementation of the strategy will not only support elderly and vulnerable patients but the whole population. The Strategic Plan for Community Pharmacy is available on the Department of Health website: https://www.health-ni.gov.uk/publications/community-pharmacy-strategic-plan-2030

One of the priorities is to expand the range of clinical services available through community pharmacies to improve access to patient care pathways for the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of illness.

Through the service development work programme to support implementation of the strategy, and subject to securing the necessary funding, new services will be introduced to meet HSC needs and priorities. A service for hypertension will be considered in that context.