To ask if my GP gets paid for this?

[namechanger563]

I've received a text from my GP practice asking for my up to date height and weight measurements. Just to keep my record up to date it says.

I'm sure I read a few years ago the GP's get paid for every patient they do a height/weight check with. Is this still the case?

So is this text just a money making exercise or are they actually going to help anyone?

@FarmGirl78

Oh my days. 😆 'Little old dears.' Could you BE any more patronising?! The ladies I know in their 80s and 90s would give you a short shrift if they heard you calling them that!

And they are certainly capable of carrying a set of bloody bathroom scales back from the shops! Good grief! They're not carrying a bloody couch back! It's a set of bathroom scales. 😂 And suggesting many 'little old dears' can't stand up for long enough to weigh themselves. OMFG 😂

You managed a thoroughly daft and hilarious post, and yet still offensive. Quite an accomplishment! 😬

And why would you keep 'tripping over your bathroom scales?' Is your bathroom only a 2 X 2 feet wide or something?

With respect, I said most of the Patients I see. I didn't say ALL THE PATIENTS THAT EXIST. You don't know my Patient cohort, you don't what what comorbidities they typically have, and you don't know why I'm making the judgements that I'm making. I gave answers to questions about a job I've been doing very well for nearly 25 years. Don't patronise me by assuming you know my Patient cohort better than I do. I'm not making it all up.....I'm telling you about factors I see every day of my working life.

A dramatic loss of weight could indicate cancer. People ring the GP because they have lost weight but don't know how much they have lost. They have made the call "because people have told me I have".

Having a recorded weight today on your GP records and a phone call to the surgery about weight loss 6 months down the line could be very important.

I've never owned a set of scales. I know what my dress size is, I know I'm slim and whenever I have been weighed over the years at smear tests etc it has confirmed what I can see, that my weight doesn't fluctuate much. Not owning scales, for me, has always been a function of having a healthy relationship with food and my body rather than the reverse.

And to the pp, yes my bathroom is also tiny. So small in fact that if you try to get past the shower to the toilet with a bulky coat on its a squeeze. But a lot of people on mumsnet tend to forget that not everyone lives the same way they do.

I have no objection to being weighed or being asked for my weight but if I have to give it myself it will be an estimate based on the last time I checked. I think that's fine in my case, but possibly not for everyone.

I've never taken my own blood pressure but I also have no cause to think its anything other than normal.

I think the thing about self reporting is its fine if its an additional nice to have, but it shouldn't be relied on in more serious medical situations, and I would assume it isn't. Some people may be checking their blood pressure and weight at home every three months but I suspect it's a very small percentage of the population. And as always those who are vulnerable or have chaotic home situations will be the ones least able to engage.

So I think its a balance. I think these texts are fine and its great if people can give the information but we need to be wary of becoming ever more remote in our approach to health care. Someone somewhere right now is no doubt looking at a way to replace GPs with AI chatbots I'm sure.

Some people have a blood pressure machine at home, or there's one in some GP waiting rooms. If you don't know it you don't know it though.

I bought a battery so now I have working scales. 9st 1, no shock or surprise, I knew I was about 9st without having weighed myself for almost a year. But now I'm thinking 8st 13 would be better. Guess I should call my surgery now and give them this very important information that I am right in the middle of the healthy weight range, seeing as they have been so concerned about my record saying 7st for the past three and a half years 🙄 .

They will be asking to see if you qualify to be referred for NHS digital weight management scheme which does come with extras reimbursements for GP practices. Trust me they don’t have time to be calling patients to update their records just for the hell of it. BMI is also required for MSK referrals now so if you recently had one you would be asked.