'I got my blood pressure checked at the barbers'

A barber shop owner who offers free blood pressure checks to clients says he loves his role in helping to cut heart attacks.

Lucky 13 in Lytham, Lancashire, has carried out more than 200 checks since they started offering the service in April last year as part of a pilot NHS project to reduce the risks of heart attacks or strokes.

Theo Petrocelli, who owns the salon, said some men were "scared to death" of anyone in authority and felt more comfortable having blood pressure checks done in the barbers.

Customer Matthew Spedding, from Elswick, said he thought it was a "fantastic" idea.

"I have quite an intense job, I do a lot of travel - 60,000 miles a year on planes, trains and automobiles - and I'm not really exercising when I'm sat in my car driving down the M6," he said.

"I do actually think the barber's chair is a nice, safe space and a safe place to be."

He said after having his blood pressure checked and being told it was "within threshold, I was rather surprised" and he felt he could now walk out of the shop "with a spring in my step".

"I was a little bit worried, but now I'm a little bit relieved to know that it's ok," he said.

The NHS said the level of undiagnosed and untreated hypertension was particularly high on the Fylde coast and the scheme targeted men who it said were often more reluctant to go to the doctors.

Salon owner Mr Petrocelli said men talked to them "about all sorts of situations, from their health to their home life problems", and so "I said I'd love to be able to check on men and make sure that they're okay".

"There's a lot of people out there that are struggling with hypertension and don't realise they are."

"People don't want to go into the GP - they're scared to death of talking to anyone in authority.

"They're coming in and actually asking for their blood pressure to be taken now," he said.

The pilot NHS project officially ended in October but Mr Petrocelli is continuing to encourage clients to have the checks.

During the seven-month pilot initiated by NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board (ICB) and funded by the Blue Skies charity, 182 people were tested - 158 men, and 24 women - with 31 advised to attend urgent care as their blood pressure warranted further assessment.

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