Rose Mabiza

29-08-2023

Know Your Numbers! Week 2025

Image by YuriArcursPeopleimages via Envato Elements

Know Your Numbers! Week 2025 highlights the “missing millions” with undiagnosed high blood pressure -driving prevention, awareness, and compliance across sectors

Each September, Know Your Numbers! Week returns as one of the UK’s most significant public health campaigns. Organised by Blood Pressure UK, this annual initiative encourages individuals to measure their blood pressure, understand their readings, and take steps to reduce their risk of heart disease, stroke, and other related conditions.

In 2025, the campaign takes place from 8 to 14 September under the theme “Looking for the Missing Millions.” With an estimated five million UK adults living with undiagnosed high blood pressure, this year’s focus is on raising awareness and encouraging home blood pressure monitoring to prevent life-threatening consequences.

For individuals, it’s a lifesaving reminder that “the silent killer” - high blood pressure - often shows no symptoms until it causes serious harm. For highly regulated organisations, from healthcare providers to social care services and education institutions, it’s an opportunity to embed awareness, prevention, and wellbeing strategies into everyday practice.

In this blog, Rose Mebiza will explore what ‘Know Your Numbers! Week’ is all about why it matters for personal health and organisational responsibility, and how regulated sectors can use this awareness week to strengthen compliance, culture, and care.

What Is Know Your Numbers! Week?

Know Your Numbers! Week (KYN Week) is the UK’s largest blood pressure testing and awareness campaign. Its mission is simple but powerful: to encourage as many people as possible to check their blood pressure and understand the risks of hypertension.

High blood pressure (hypertension) affects around one in three adults in the UK. Yet millions are unaware they even have the condition because it often develops silently, without noticeable symptoms. Left untreated, high blood pressure can significantly increase the risk of:

• Heart disease
• Stroke
• Kidney disease
• Vascular dementia.

By promoting easy access to blood pressure checks, whether at home, in pharmacies, or in workplaces, Know Your Numbers! Week empowers people to take control of their health.

The message is clear: knowing your numbers today could prevent life-changing or even life-threatening consequences tomorrow.

Why blood pressure awareness matters

At its core, Know Your Numbers! Week is about shifting the focus from treatment to prevention. Hypertension is one of the leading causes of premature death worldwide, yet it is also one of the most preventable and manageable conditions.

Early detection, combined with lifestyle adjustments and (where necessary) medication, can reduce risks dramatically. Awareness campaigns like KYN Week drive home the point that monitoring health indicators is not a once-off medical activity, but a routine habit that saves lives.

Beyond personal well-being, blood pressure awareness intersects with broader themes of public health, workforce well-being, and regulatory compliance - especially in highly regulated environments.

Implications for highly regulated organisations

For organisations in health, social care, and education, Know Your Numbers! Week provides more than an awareness opportunity. It highlights both ethical responsibilities and regulatory duties. Below are some key areas of impact:

1. Healthcare providers

• Patient safety - NHS trusts, GP practices, and hospitals have a duty to identify and manage risk factors for long-term conditions. Encouraging blood pressure monitoring aligns with NICE guidelines and CQC requirements
• Staff well-being - Frontline staff often work long shifts in high-stress environments. Promoting blood pressure checks supports wellbeing initiatives and reduces sickness absence
• Prevention mandates - Integrated Care Systems (ICS) increasingly emphasise preventative care. Embedding blood pressure awareness contributes to broader system goals.

2. Social care services

• Duty of care - Care homes and domiciliary care providers support individuals who may be particularly vulnerable to hypertension-related complications. Staff awareness and resident screening can prevent avoidable hospital admissions
• Inspection readiness - Regulatory frameworks, such as the Care Act 2014, expect providers to promote health and well-being, not just deliver basic care. Campaigns like KYN Week demonstrate proactive compliance
• Safeguarding - Ignoring underlying health conditions risks harm and could be classed as neglect. Proactive health checks reinforce safeguarding responsibilities.

3. Education providers

• Supporting staff - Schools, colleges, and universities employ thousands of staff who may not realise they are at risk. On-site health checks or well-being initiatives can help
• Educating young people - While hypertension is less common in young populations, teaching students about healthy lifestyle choices builds long-term resilience and public health literacy
• Duty of care - Embedding awareness campaigns demonstrates commitment to staff and student welfare, aligning with Ofsted expectations around well-being.

4. Workplaces beyond care and education

• Corporate responsibility - Employers in regulated sectors have legal and moral obligations under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 to protect staff health
• Equality and inclusion - Encouraging blood pressure checks is a small but significant step in creating equitable, supportive workplaces
• Productivity and engagement - Healthier employees are more productive, engaged, and less likely to take long-term sick leave.

Practical ways organisations can support Know Your Numbers! Week

Awareness campaigns gain real impact when they move beyond posters and emails into tangible action. Below are some practical, compliance-aligned ways organisations can engage with KYN Week:

• On-site health checks - Partner with occupational health providers or local pharmacies to offer free blood pressure checks for staff
• Awareness training - Incorporate hypertension awareness into mandatory health and safety or well-being training
• Policy integration - Update wellbeing, health, and safety policies to reflect the importance of regular health checks
• Educational resources - Share leaflets, intranet content, or short webinars explaining the risks of high blood pressure and how to monitor it
• Encourage home monitoring - Guide on using validated home blood pressure monitors, empowering staff and service users to take responsibility.
• Well-being campaigns - Link KYN Week to broader well-being initiatives, such as promoting healthy eating, stress management, and physical activity.

By embedding these actions, organisations show inspectors, regulators, and staff alike that they are committed to creating safe, healthy, and supportive environments.

Linking awareness to compliance and governance

Awareness weeks like KYN Week are not just symbolic gestures; they offer organisations a chance to demonstrate alignment with inspection frameworks, governance standards, and digital compliance systems.

• Care Quality Commission (CQC) - Emphasises safety, effectiveness, and responsiveness - all supported by proactive health promotion
• Ofsted - Looks for evidence of welfare support for staff and students in educational settings
• Health and Safety Executive (HSE) - Monitors employer compliance with duties to protect the workforce's health.

Organisations that record, evidence, and evaluate participation in health campaigns can demonstrate to regulators how they integrate prevention into their culture. Platforms like ComplyPlus™ help organisations track activities, training, and outcomes, ensuring nothing is left undocumented when inspections come around.

Stay aware, stay healthy - Know Your Numbers! Week 2025

Know Your Numbers! Week 2025 shows how awareness can save lives. By encouraging people to check their blood pressure - at home, in workplaces, or in community settings - this campaign highlights the importance of prevention and early action. For regulated organisations, it’s also a chance to demonstrate responsibility for staff wellbeing, embed prevention into culture, and show regulators a proactive approach to health and safety.

At The Mandatory Training Group, we believe awareness campaigns like this are powerful tools for change. Alongside our accredited training and digital compliance ecosystem, ComplyPlus™, we help organisations integrate health awareness, prevention, and compliance into everyday practice.