To think we shouldn’t have to buy our own blood pressure machines

[TangoTarantella]

Had a text from the GP surgery this morning to say that to re-authorise my HRT prescription I need to provide daily blood pressure readings at 9am and 6pm for 4 consecutive days. I rang the surgery and asked how I was supposed to do this and they said I had to buy a blood pressure machine (as if it was the most normal thing in the world). I was gobsmacked. Am I unreasonable to think I shouldn’t have to pay for medical equipment that I don’t want? Has anyone else had this?

It is exactly like a thermometer for kids - when it’s an ‘urgent’ situation, no thermometer is needed as it’s blatantly clear the child has a temperature. Plenty of people just check by touch, many prefer to use a thermometer.

You could inconvenience yourself by going to a pharmacist repeatedly, or you can buy your own and test yourself.

The NHS doesn’t need to provide non-essential health monitoring kit for everyone.

If you can’t afford a cheap one (my pharmacist stressed the cheap ones are exactly as good as the expensive ones) then you’ll have to go the inconvenient route of getting yourself tested daily.

Why on earth do posters think this would require 2 appointments a day?! When my DM had to do a week of BP readings for a different issue the surgery lent her a portable machine. OK so the OP's surgery clearly doesn't have this option, but it's hardly a groundbreaking idea.

You need to take some level of personal responsibility for your own health. If you can't afford to £20 for your own blood pressure monitor then say so, and either don't provide the readings or get it done at a pharmacy.

Well the bigger problem for me is I work shifts so can't do a 9am and 6pm reading

This is the problem the NHS has. The expectation of the service they provide is too high.

You can get blood pressure reading for free at the surgery, or at a pharmacy. You can buy one for £10.

But you won’t. It’s not good enough. It needs to be more convenient for you.

The NHS is providing a perfectly good service in this scenario.

I've borrowed one from the surgery, in the past but ended up buying one because the cuffs could have smelled fresher.

The readings don't need to be done exactly at those hours - they are a suggestion. Equally you can do them when you wake and before you go to sleep or any time thereabouts that is convenient to you.

I'm sure you could book twice daily appointments with the HCA if you wanted to, but is it really worth the hassle of going in compared to a relatively small cost for a BP machine?

People will really miss the NHS when it's gone...........

No I suppose just some joined up thinking. For the last 3 years a single BP reading has been enough. Nothing has changed. I don’t have BP problems, if I did then I wouldn’t mind buying a cheap monitor.

I still think it’s unreasonable to expect me to buy a monitor when it’s of no use to me (and the results are probably of no use to them either). There’s just been no thought put into it.

doesn't have to be exact - GP will be open for say a 9am and 5pm appt Monday to Thursday.

Would you also object them telling someone who wanted weight loss surgery that before they could have it they need to loose a certain amount so the person had to buy some trainers?

or someone to buy their own aspirin to reduce chances of a heart attack?

or a dentist asking you to buy your own toothbrush?

if you want the medication just get yourself a machine. It is going to save you so much time, energy and stress not having to have this conversation before each of your repeat prescriptions

You want the NHS to take your BP twice a day for a week - seriously?

Like most people said, the blood pressure monitors are fairly cheap and you can get a good one for less than £20.00

I appreciate you don't want to get one but ultimately it is your health. Blood pressure for women can change fairly quickly during the perimenapause/menopause years so it can become an issue even if previously you were okay and we are a high risk of heart disease as a result of this transitionary period in our lives.

It is impossible for the surgery to check anyone's blood pressure daily. You might not like it and that's fine, it's just not something that can happen on a practical level.

It's ultimately your health and your responsibility, so think about what is more acceptable: spending the £20 and self monitoring as per medical advice OR complications from unknown blood pressure changes like heart disease, stroke etc.,

YABU. Pay for your own.

The entitlement of people these days is next level.

So you do the readings at a time that fits in with your schedule.

The NHS is providing a proper service by prescribing HRT to you responsibly. I assume you don’t expect a district nurse to pop in twice a day to take your BP reading, so buy a £15 machine and take some responsibility.

I absolutely see it as comparable to basic equipment like a thermometer, nail clippers, basic first aid kit etc particularly if you are 40+

It's about taking basic responsibility for your health - the problem with the NHS is that many people fail to do so always expecting the state to provide.

The NHS is an amazing concept but definitely abused in places and definitely not there to absorb all health related costs.

If you want your HRT then one of the requirements is that your blood pressure needs to be monitored. It will be again in the future so it sounds like it might be worth the small outlay (I got one last year for about £10).

My blood pressure was absolutely fine for fifty years, through 3 pregnancies, until it suddenly wasn't. Everyone over 40 should check their blood pressure regularly.

Can you afford to buy one @TangoTarantella ? Do you ever spend money on other things that make you feel good? Eating out, travel etc?

If you can afford it I don’t see why you wouldn’t spend a small amount of money on a piece of equipment that will benefit your health- the most important thing. if you can’t afford it then see if they will lend you on or try the pharmacy.

They r really cheap, so cant see what the issue is.

Check it once at the surgery then make up the other readings? (Joking…!)

Can someone send a link to one for £10 please?

Our Patients Participation Group funded one in the entrance of the GP surgery.

It’s pretty grim borrowing a BP monitor that may have been used by several hundred people. You can’t wash the cuffs so probably only wiped with a cloth.
In all probability the GP surgery had a number of loan units but over the pandemic were unable to loan them, or like many NHS loan items ( crutches, wheelchairs) they are just not returned.
If you are menopausal then checking your BP regularly is a good idea. Many very healthy looking people develop hypertension in their 50s and 60s, it is generally silent in this group of people until their first heart attack or stroke.

The first time I had to do a week of readings the surgery loaned me a monitor for a £20 deposit which I got back when I returned it. The alternative of going into the surgery daily to use the monitor in the waiting room was also available.

When they needed me to do it again a few months later I bought a monitor for £18 on amazon.

Whilst it's good that loan ones are available the fact that they obviously need a deposit of the replacement value including admin costs means it's really more sensible for people who need them to buy them. I am sure there are discretionary charitable funds that will give small grants to someone who needs something like this but would have to stop eating for 4 days to afford it.

We're expected to buy our own thermometers too!