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To think this nurse was unprofessional?

383 replies

ThisCoolOP · 19/06/2025 17:06

So I went for an appointment at my GP surgery to try and verify the accuracy of two home blood pressure monitors we have in our house. The two monitors give virtually identical readings to each other for everyone in our family - but for my sister one reads 10 - 15 points lower than the other on thr systolic number.

During the appointment, my sister attempted to explain the situation and that she wanted to compare both machines against a manual reading. The nurse immediately told her to "just bin" one of the machines without any attempt to even compare it

The nurse then proceeded to only check one of the machines (the one that reads lower). When the machine displayed a reading of 150/100, she then performed a "manual check" and literally immediately stated "yeah 150/100". Might be just me, but this rapid confirmation seems like the nurse was simply just re-stating the reading she had seen on the machines screen (literally told me her reading was the exact same number) rather than conducting a genuine, independent manual verification. Her pre-judgement of which machine was correct was evident from the beginning, as she refused to consider checking the second machine, despite my clear explanation of the discrepancy of both machines for me, but identical readings for the rest of the family

As a result, I was left in the exact same position I was in before the appointment. I actually suffer from anxiety and came back in tears at how sharp and unhelpful she had been, and because it seemed she had made her mind up there and then she was only checking one machine and that was the correct one (despite them giving the same readings for everyone else), i don't trust what she told me at all

OP posts:
ThisCoolOP · 19/06/2025 20:30

Mymanyellow · 19/06/2025 20:29

The readings. Do the low readings agree with nurse’s one or the high reading agree with nurse’s one.

Thats thing thing can't say whether the low readings or the high readings at home match more with the nurses one as they are in totally different settings. Whitecoat is an issue in a medical setting, its not in a home setting so can't go it was high at the surgery so the high one at home must be correct

OP posts:
ThisCoolOP · 19/06/2025 20:29

PinkyFlamingo · 19/06/2025 20:27

Exactly

Again. It wasnt me that booked the appointment, someone at the surgery who triages online portal messages did

OP posts:
Mymanyellow · 19/06/2025 20:29

ThisCoolOP · 19/06/2025 20:24

What do you mean higher or low than mine? Both machines are mine haha

The readings. Do the low readings agree with nurse’s one or the high reading agree with nurse’s one.

wordler · 19/06/2025 20:28

HerNeighbourTotoro · 19/06/2025 20:20

Because the post and the updates are convulted, if the two machines give you two almost identical readings, and you have high blood pressure, it's totally irrelevant what they show to anyone else, and for another person to book appointment is, again, a total waste of time. If you are worried about your bloos pressure you book the appointment to check, but there are no issues with the machines for you, so again, it's a non-issue rather as you get correct readings.
Good you didnt send your sister to A&E with this.

Edited

To simplify - OP’s family own two machines which are giving two very different readings (for just one family member so far but I think that’s a bit of a red herring - one of the machines is not working properly for the person who needs it)

To check which was the most accurate surgery offered to check against a manual reading.

Nurse checked one machine against manual reading got identical results so has identified which of the two machines is reading correctly.

OP is upset that nurse announced before starting that she wasn’t going to bother testing both.

I suspect that the nurse has experience of many of these machines and accurately predicted which the more reliable was going to be.

All that matters now is OP knows she has one machine which is working as it should.

ThisCoolOP · 19/06/2025 20:28

CrackOnThen · 19/06/2025 20:26

But she checked one, it was correct, so the other one must be incorrect.

It just seemed she had made her mind up at the beginning when she chose which to check, and and made her mind up there and then which was correct

OP posts:
Harp1977 · 19/06/2025 20:28

I am not in the UK, but surely if you are worried or have potentially high BP that requires monitoring the GP would put you on a 24 hr BP monitor to.have a true assessment of your or your Sisters BP.
Would it be worth asking g for this and then starting fresh with a new home monitor

PinkyFlamingo · 19/06/2025 20:27

screwyou · 19/06/2025 17:14

I am only shocked a Nurse would waste her time with you under these circumstances and I am a Nurse.

Exactly

CrackOnThen · 19/06/2025 20:26

ThisCoolOP · 19/06/2025 17:19

Thats the thing, we don't know which one is giving the inaccurate readings! If both machines were checked then we would know and actually be able to complete the 7 day monitoring form requested

But she checked one, it was correct, so the other one must be incorrect.

Greybeardy · 19/06/2025 20:26

ThisCoolOP · 19/06/2025 20:08

Thats the thing, can't be sure if it is whitecoat?

I spend a lot of time measuring blood pressures and interpreting those results in different contexts. It doesn't matter if today's readings were high - you would probably expect it to be higher because you were at the GP practice. What matters is that your machine correlated with the practice one. Now, when you go home you know that that machine is giving useful results. And the numbers may well be slightly lower because you're at home and that's fine, but, if you took the nurses machine home it would also give lower numbers than today because you'd be using it at home. If your readings at home are lower it would suggest that today's numbers had a white coat element to them. But, if your readings at home using the machine she's validated are as high as they were in clinic then you have hypertension that needs addressing. When it comes to interpreting the numbers the GP probably will look at what it was at home and what it was in clinic, but the thresholds for making a diagnosis are different for readings taken at home vs at clinic - they're not idiots. There is, fwiw, a school of thought that a white coat response probably isn't as innocent as everyone on MN thinks, but the GP will know that and will be able to use all of the results in the context of the rest of your medical history to come up with a plan for you. What matters most right now is that the nurse has said she believes the machine of yours that she tested is reliable enough.

ThisCoolOP · 19/06/2025 20:25

MissMoneyFairy · 19/06/2025 20:24

Did you ask if that was on a nurse or doctors advice

Why should I have to ask if the appointment they've booked was on a nurse or doctors advice? Surely they've been trained on what needs an appointment and what doesn't?

OP posts:
MissMoneyFairy · 19/06/2025 20:24

ThisCoolOP · 19/06/2025 20:23

Well a hca is triaging appointments, that's not our fault is it?

Edited

Did you ask if that was on a nurse or doctors advice

ThisCoolOP · 19/06/2025 20:24

Mymanyellow · 19/06/2025 20:23

Which the nurse did. You just do t believe her. I see you’ve been asked before. Higher or lower than yours?

What do you mean higher or low than mine? Both machines are mine haha

OP posts:
Geminijes · 19/06/2025 20:23

The nurse checked your sister’s blood pressure on the surgery monitor then checked her blood pressure on one of your monitors. As the readings were similar then she didn’t need to check your other monitor as the nurse knows her monitor is accurate hence her telling you to bin the unchecked one.

ThisCoolOP · 19/06/2025 20:23

MissMoneyFairy · 19/06/2025 20:21

Why have you got 2 machines? What is your actual complaint, that the nurse falsified her reading? You preferred to have your BP checked 3 times unnecessarily just to see which machine was accurate because there's a difference in your sisters systolic, who wasnt even there at your appointment , when she takes it at least twice? Maybe an hca shouldn't be triaging patients, you may have got a different answer from a nurse or doctor,

Well a hca is triaging appointments, that's not our fault is it?

OP posts:
Mymanyellow · 19/06/2025 20:23

Which the nurse did. You just do t believe her. I see you’ve been asked before. Higher or lower than yours?

Lalalol · 19/06/2025 20:23

Bobbie12345678 · 19/06/2025 17:38

If the monitors are identical for most people they are probably good.
Maybe your sister has very variable readings?

This is clearly the issue. Can’t believe it’s being discussed

ThisCoolOP · 19/06/2025 20:22

Mrsttcno1 · 19/06/2025 20:18

Fucking hell OP either go get your own nursing degree or believe the nurse you saw. And stop hassling your GP, online or by phone, for your own tech support. Jesus Christ.

Actually, patients are encouraged to use the online portal! If the problem can't be dealt with by the surgery they tell you so, but the person who triaged instead booked an appointment and said to take both machines in to check accuracy for home monitoring. ....

OP posts:
MissMoneyFairy · 19/06/2025 20:21

Why have you got 2 machines? What is your actual complaint, that the nurse falsified her reading? You preferred to have your BP checked 3 times unnecessarily just to see which machine was accurate because there's a difference in your sisters systolic, who wasnt even there at your appointment , when she takes it at least twice? Maybe an hca shouldn't be triaging patients, you may have got a different answer from a nurse or doctor,

HerNeighbourTotoro · 19/06/2025 20:20

ThisCoolOP · 19/06/2025 20:15

Yes.... FOR ME! Not for my sister, hence why we were checking which is giving the most accurate reading for her........ Jesus wept at those not reading comments properly

Edited

Because the post and the updates are convulted, if the two machines give you two almost identical readings, and you have high blood pressure, it's totally irrelevant what they show to anyone else, and for another person to book appointment is, again, a total waste of time. If you are worried about your bloos pressure you book the appointment to check, but there are no issues with the machines for you, so again, it's a non-issue rather as you get correct readings.
Good you didnt send your sister to A&E with this.

FancyLimePoet · 19/06/2025 20:20

ThisCoolOP · 19/06/2025 20:10

Hey, cuffs are the same sizes as measured my arm to make sure i got the right size

I see. Well in the GP practices blood pressure monitors are calibrated every year or less. Do they maybe have a monitor you could borrow ( usually a small deposit is required). Or just buy a brand new one which will have been calibrated prior to leaving the factory. That way you can be sure.

Lanzarotelady · 19/06/2025 20:19

ThisCoolOP · 19/06/2025 20:18

No I'm not, I'm making an effort to reply to every comment! Those negative and positive!

So why are you and your sister going to the GP together? Are you not adults?

Auroraloves · 19/06/2025 20:19

ThisCoolOP · 19/06/2025 20:18

My sisters GP. We are at the same surgery!

Ok, and can you answer my previous question, what do you mean by a manual check? Was this an independent check using their devices?

Mymanyellow · 19/06/2025 20:19

I don’t know about anyone else but my bp is rising.

ThisCoolOP · 19/06/2025 20:18

Lanzarotelady · 19/06/2025 20:17

Oh the irony of you having a go at other people for not reading comments!

You're choosing which comments to answer!

No I'm not, I'm making an effort to reply to every comment! Those negative and positive!

OP posts:
nocoolnamesleft · 19/06/2025 20:18

So let's see if I've got this right. The nurse took a blood pressure with one machine. She then took a manual blood pressure (a very quick process) which matched that machine. So she then told you that machine was the accurate one, because it matched the manual BP. But you won't now use the confirmed reliable BP machine because you've got your knickers in a twist about the machine she didn't check, because she'd already proved the first machine was the accurate one.