Hypertension remains the leading modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular disease, presenting a major opportunity to reduce cardiovascular events and premature mortality through effective management of patients with hypertension.
In June 2024, national benchmarking revealed that Cheshire and Merseyside’s performance in managing hypertensive patients to their target levels was below the national average (65.8% vs. 67.1%), ranking 29th out of 42 Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) in England. The situation was more concerning in the region’s more deprived populations, where the percentage of patients treated to target fell further below national averages.
To address this, we partnered with the Cheshire & Merseyside ICB to deliver a six-month quality improvement project aimed at enhancing blood pressure control across a group of general practices. This collaborative initiative, supported through communities of practice and locally tailored sessions, also placed a strong emphasis on reducing health inequalities.
The project had two main aims:
- To support identified practices with the knowledge and resources to manage more patients on the hypertension register to their treatment target.
- To identify the supportive measures for quality improvement for sustainability and spread of the initiative across Cheshire & Merseyside.
General practices with the lowest treatment-to-target rates across the region were invited to join the Blood Pressure Optimisation project. Of the 32 practices approached, 15 fully engaged with the quality improvement work.
An evaluation conducted in July 2025 provides a detailed report, including the challenges faced and outcomes, including examples of sustainable improvements in patient care.