PocDoc powers CVD screening initiative, accelerating early detection in Heathrow communities

PocDoc, the UK's leading diagnostics company, has partnered with Puri Pharmacy and The Confederation, Hillingdon to deliver a three-day cardiovascular disease (CVD) community screening programme near Heathrow Airport, screening around 300 residents and identifying previously undetected cardiovascular risk in the local population.

Delivered via PocDoc's Neighbourhood Testing Bus at St Mary's Church on Harmondsworth High Street over the weekend of 27-29th March 2026, the initiative marks the first time PocDoc has delivered a joint neighbourhood programme integrating both a community pharmacy and a GP federation - a model that demonstrates how digital diagnostics, pharmacy and primary care can work together to bring prevention directly into communities.

Why Heathrow Villages

Residents in the Heathrow Villages have raised concerns about the ability to access key healthcare services, including GPs, dentists and pharmacies. At the same time, local data highlights a higher prevalence of diabetes, as well as above-average obesity rates, compared to North West London - two conditions which significantly heighten the risk of cardiovascular disease.

North West London is already one of the regions with the highest prevalence of diabetes in England, particularly among ethnic minority groups of South Asian, African and Caribbean descent¹. An estimated 179,798 people across North West London were living with diagnosed and undiagnosed diabetes as of the most recent Public Health England estimates, representing 9.3% of the population¹ - and the Heathrow Villages area sits above even this already elevated baseline.

These are not people who don't care about their health. Many work shifts, hold irregular hours near the airport, or face practical barriers to attending GP appointments during standard surgery times. The average uptake of NHS Health Checks following an invitation was just 46.5% between 2016 and 2021². Among 40–59 year olds - the working-age population most likely to benefit from early screening - uptake has historically been even lower. Yet when screening is made genuinely accessible, people engage: in one East London programme, uptake rose from 7.3% to 85.0% when barriers to access were removed².

The Heathrow Villages programme confirms this pattern. Around 300 residents in three days, without a single GP appointment required.

The results

Around 300 residents received the NHS Health Check using PocDoc's flagship Healthy Heart Check, representing 30% of the average annual NHS Health Check uptake in the local area. Each check delivered a full cholesterol profile, BMI score, NHS Heart Age, and a ten-year cardiovascular risk assessment within minutes, with results integrated directly into the patient's electronic health record (EPR) from any location.

Of those tested, 40% had never had an NHS Health Check before - demonstrating how initiatives like this complement existing GP services and bring point-of-care testing to people who might otherwise never be screened through traditional pathways.

To put this in context: NHS research shows that every digital health check can save up to 20 minutes of GP time⁴, and early detection could prevent up to 80% of CVD cases - equivalent to saving an estimated 136,000 lives in the UK each year⁵.

A first-of-its-kind model

This initiative marks the first time PocDoc has delivered a joint neighbourhood programme which integrates both a community pharmacy and a GP federation. The model brings together three distinct parts of the healthcare system:

PocDoc provides the diagnostic technology - a smartphone-based, finger-prick test using patented microfluidic assay (MFA) technology and the HUESnap® AI diagnostic pipeline, delivering lab-equivalent cardiovascular screening in minutes from any location.

Puri Pharmacy provides the community pharmacy infrastructure, local knowledge, and ongoing screening capacity. Following the roadshow event, testing will continue at Puri Pharmacy sites in Hillingdon and Southall, ensuring ongoing screening and support beyond the initial activation.

The Confederation, Hillingdon provides the GP federation pathway, enabling seamless referral and escalation for patients identified as high-risk, connecting the community screening directly into primary care follow-up.

This three-way integration - digital diagnostics, community pharmacy, and GP federation - creates an end-to-end pathway from screening to treatment that doesn't require the patient to navigate the system alone.

What comes next

Following the roadshow event, testing will continue at Puri Pharmacy sites in Hillingdon and Southall, ensuring ongoing screening and support beyond the initial activation.

Steve Roest, Co-Founder and CEO of PocDoc, said: "Too many people are missing out on basic health checks simply because they're not easily accessible. By bringing our technology directly into the heart of the Heathrow Villages community, we can help identify risk earlier and support people to take action before more serious conditions develop. This partnership with Puri Pharmacy is about removing barriers to prevention and demonstrating how digital diagnostics can play a meaningful role in improving public health outcomes."

Rahul Puri, Superintendent Pharmacist and Owner of Puri Pharmacy, said: "We know from speaking to local residents that access to basic healthcare services can be a real challenge in the Heathrow Villages. That's exactly why we partnered with PocDoc to bring testing directly into the community, making it easier for people to understand their cardiovascular health and take proactive steps to manage it, ensuring no one is left behind when it comes to prevention."

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