Free cholesterol tests expanded to 70 east London pharmacies
A fast, free cholesterol test, pioneered at Barts Health, is being rolled out to 70 pharmacies across east London.
High cholesterol often has no symptoms but is a major cause of heart disease. Every month, around 220 people in east London die from heart and circulatory conditions.
Barts Heart Centre, working with UCLPartners, introduced the seven-minute test — first launched in Newham — which shows cholesterol levels and estimates a person’s risk of heart problems over the next 10 years.
Sotoros Antoniou, the programme's clinical lead, said around 1,000 people have had their cholesterol tested so far, with 163 identified as being at high risk of a heart attack or stroke.
Fifty of these patients were started on cholesterol-lowering treatments through the pharmacy, without the need to go through their GP.
"What we're trying to do is pick up people in order to identify them as high risk, in order to prevent them from having heart attacks," Antoniou said.
"We know that the cost of treatment for having a heart attack is far more expensive than trying to prevent somebody having a heart attack."
The service also connects people to support for healthier living, including advice on diet, exercise, and quitting smoking.
Shilpa Patel, a patient who took the free test in Poplar, told BBC London: "My parents suffered with high cholesterol. My dad died at an early age of a heart attack.
"I think for me I'm at an age where I should try and stay on top of these things."
Speaking during a visit to east London, which included stops in Poplar and at St Bartholomew’s Hospital earlier that day, Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister Darren Jones said the programme aims to make more services available in pharmacies, helping to reduce pressure on GP surgeries.
"The scheme is currently being evaluated, so they'll be able to compare the costs and the savings that are made as a consequence," he said.
If the programme proves successful, Jones added, cholesterol tests in pharmacies could be rolled out nationally.
Barts Health has teamed up with UCLPartners, North East and North Central London ICB, North East London Local Pharmaceutical Committee, HEART UK, and NHS England to bring the rapid cholesterol test to local pharmacies.
Find a participating pharmacy.
The story was featured by BBC London on Friday 9 January 2026 and promoted on LBC News the same day. It was also published as a case study on the NHS 10-Year Plan for England website.
Picture credit: BBC London News
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