Aims: To assess the demographics and blood pressure monitoring and control of patients at Morum House Medical Centre GP Practice in North London who are on the Hypertension Register and eligible for QOF (Quality and Outcomes Framework) targeting, who have not had their blood pressure measured in the last 9 months and/or whose last blood pressure measurement was >150/90.

Methods: The patient group analysed in detail (n=491) was derived from the Clinical Audit section of the VISION programme for data storage and recording for GPs used at Morum House. Data was then analysed using basic statistical methods with Microsoft Excel. Papers and references were derived from PubMed using the internet.

Standards: Guidelines and standards used are the NICE guidelines on Hypertension and also government-derived Quality and Outcomes Framework targets.

Results: 6% of patients on the blood pressure register did not have their blood pressure measured in the last 9 months and  25% of patients on the hypertension register had a last recorded blood pressure >150/90. In patients on the hypertension register who had not had their blood pressure measured in the last 9 months and whose last blood pressure was >150/90 (n=491),  50% had a cardiovascular disease risk in the next 10 years of >20%, 18.9% were diabetic and 10.6% had chronic kidney disease.

Conclusions: Blood pressure monitoring and control at Morum House Medical Centre is good in relation to national guidelines. Simple measures such as awareness of guidelines and re-audit could help reduce morbidity and mortality in the practice population from hypertension. Future research, including a greater role for self-monitoring, offer novel strategies for improving accuracy of monitoring and control of blood pressure in primary care.