A new initiative offering cholesterol-lowering injections at community pharmacies is now underway in East London, the British Heart Foundation (BHF) has announced. <\/p>\n
The BHF said today that the pilot – run by Barts Health NHS Trust and UCLPartners, with funding from the charity – allows people living with high cholesterol to avoid months-long hospital waiting times by receiving their twice-yearly inclisiran jab at a local pharmacy. <\/p>\n
Barts Health NHS Trust first announced the pilot<\/a> last November, and confirmed to C+D that the service is now live in participating pharmacies. <\/p>\n Read more: NHS trust pilots \u2018cholesterol-lowering\u2019 injections in pharmacies<\/a> <\/p>\n \u201cThis means the governance, digital links and clinical pathways are now in place to deliver integrated cardiovascular care closer to patients\u2019 homes,\u201d it said. <\/p>\n The BHF said the first three community pharmacies taking part in the scheme are Anjis Dispensing Chemist in Waltham Forest and Rohpharm Pharmacy\u2019s Ilford and Plaistow branches. <\/p>\n Barts Health NHS Trust told C+D that the pharmacies \u201care remunerated for delivering cholesterol point-of-care testing and administering inclisiran\u201d but did not disclose the fees. <\/p>\n Read more: \u2018Historic\u2019: Pharmacies to offer free cholesterol checkups from autumn<\/a> <\/p>\n The BHF added that \u201cfurther pharmacies will be joining soon\u201d, and that more than 180 people with high cholesterol \u201cwill be referred to their local pharmacy for treatment over a 14-month period\u201d. <\/p>\n The initiative is part of the Barts Health team\u2019s wider program of work testing new ways to prevent heart disease across East London, and follows the trust piloting a cholesterol point-of-care testing service<\/a> in North East London pharmacies last year. <\/p>\n \u201cHealthcare innovation in practice\u201d<\/p>\n Barts Heart Centre consultant cardiologist Professor Riyaz Patel, who is leading the pilot, said the patients taking part are \u201cin great need of more cholesterol-lowering therapy, beyond tablets, to reduce their risk of future problems\u201d, but \u201coften find it difficult to attend hospital appointments to receive these advanced treatments\u201d. <\/p>\n He added that by \u201cbringing care closer to home\u201d through local pharmacies, \u201cwe can reach people faster, reduce waiting times, free up hospital appointments and address inequalities in access to cardiovascular care\u201d. <\/p>\n Read more: Pharmacist calls can help lower \u2018bad\u2019 cholesterol, study finds<\/a> <\/p>\n And UCLPartners chief executive officer Chris Laing said that \u201cbringing inclisiran into community pharmacies is a great example of health innovation working in practice\u201d. <\/p>\n \u201cBy working with our partners to adopt and test new approaches in real clinical settings, we build the evidence and experience needed to help make effective treatments available to patients closer to home.\u201d <\/p>\n Read more: London pharmacy cholesterol testing pilot \u2018highly valuable\u2019<\/a> <\/p>\n