GWENT pub goers are getting the chance to have a free health consultation when they go for a pint.

Award-winning pharmacy group Mayberry has teamed up with pub giant JD Wetherspoon to run a unique programme offering health checks at four of the chain’s pubs in Gwent.

For any pub regulars wishing to take part, the checks come in the form of a blood pressure test and a consultation with pharmacist which will take in issues such as weight loss, giving up smoking, and adopting a healthy lifestyle.

The programme, which will run on selected days through the rest of October, and into November and December, is focusing on high blood pressure.

The condition is one of the biggest killers in Wales, and 30 per cent of people are affected by it.

High blood pressure can often go undetected, but can be a trigger for stroke, heart and kidney problems.

JD Wetherspoon will also display a series of beer mats produced by Mayberry Pharmacy, which feature quirky facts about organs that can be affected by high blood pressure.

Mayberry Pharmacy, set up in Pontypool in the mid-1990s, was Wales’ community pharmacy of the year on 2010.

It will have its team of pharmacists in JD Wetherspoon’s bars in Blackwood, Caerphilly, Newport and Pontypool during the programme.

“As a pharmacy chain we feel it’s important that we provide more ways for people to take advantage of the health services we provide, said Paul Mayberry, founder and managing director of Mayberry Pharmacy, which has its head office in Blackwood.

“This is why we have partnered with Wetherspoon. Lots of people enjoy going to their local pub for a meal or a drink, so by providing free health checks and blood pressure tests at these venues we are making it easier and more convenient for people to check and improve their health.”

Richard Bond, area manager for Wetherspoon, said the company is delighted to support the campaign.

“The health and wellbeing of our customers is very important to us and this campaign provides us with the opportunity of giving them the chance to learn about their health,” he said.

Among the first recipients was Welsh Conservative Party leader Andrew RT Davies AM, who called idea “hugely innovative and groundbreaking”.

“This campaign provides people with the means of finding out more about their health in a way that fits around their lives,” he said.