To think this nurse was unprofessional?

[ThisCoolOP]

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

It was a horrible comment to make though , saying that they gave an appointment just to make someone feel uncomfortable. As if any surgery would ever do that, daft comment take tbh

nite nite

I'm actually replying to other people who are being nice and not making nasty comments like yourself

Finally you and your nasty comments are leaving! Thank you!

It was the receptionist who decided SiL needed the appointment with the nurse.

Are the machines different makes?

Perhaps the nurse has lots of experience of a certain brand being superior.

I read all your posts - I'd not have gone to the GP I'd have tried a pharmacist first,

If the nurse - measured your blood pressure then used your machine and they were the same (which I think is what happened) then there is no need to check the second.

If you are that worried- use one machine - and track the blood pressure - and every time you are checked by the GP - compare the monitor with their calibrated version.

Using two different monitors is just confusing and stressful. I don't understand why you have two.

Hey :) bit worried at replying with some of the nasty comments telling me not to, but wanted to try and reply to everyone

Both machines are clinically validated, but yes different makes

The reason I'm not filled with confidence is her straight away telling me to bin one before she had even checked either machine against her manual. She seemed to make her mind up from the start which she was checking and which she wasnt and just have that doubt that because of that she maybe just told me the exact same reading as the one she chose showed... not sure if that makes sense? Tried my best to explain

The fact ones reading so much higher and one so much lower, makes me worry about either being on too much medication or not enough. Just going to have to pick one and hope its right, but just worry if it really is low and they are treating high then going to be knocked even lower and vice versa

I was at a chiropractor appointment once where my BP was a similar number and she insisted I go to a&e after the session. I felt ridiculous but they said I was right to come and there was an issue that needed sorting.
it’s not a waste!

Just going to have to pick one and hope its right, but just worry if it really is low and they are treating high then going to be knocked even lower and vice versa.

But this is her doctor's responsibility, isn't it? He should be monitoring her BP.

Might interest you to know that our surgery issues blood pressure machines and blood glucose monitors to those with long term conditions - one of which is my DH. The standard advice is that if you get odd or inconsistent readings, or have any doubts about the accuracy of the equipment, to ring the surgery and they will make an appointment for you to bring it in to get it checked. So many people on this thread clearly don’t understand the services offered or the importance of the monitoring equipment being well maintained and accurate.

This is just daft. OP was asked to bring the machines into the surgery to check.

Agree. TBH we’ve had several BP machines issued by our surgery to monitor DH’s blood pressure. They were all absolute rubbish and none lasted more than a few months before needing to be replaced. In the end I bought our own - much more reliable. Same with blood glucose monitors - cheapest of the cheap and wouldn’t calibrate properly. I understand the financial constraints of the NHS, but if they’re going to issue equipment like this for home use, it needs to be accurate and reliable, and in my experience it’s not.

OP I agree that some of the comments are unnecessary and unfair here, but I don’t understand your problem with the nurse. If she took your blood pressure manually and then did it with one of your own machines and it was the same, then clearly that’s the machine you use. Ditch the other one.

A sphygmomanometer requires accurate placing and inflation of the cuff, identification of the brachial artery and a knowledge of how to properly identify the sounds of blood flow in the artery, to measure systolic and diastolic pressures. Manual monitors are only recommended for use with clinical training.

Yes - and whose appointment actually was it?

Just going to have to pick one and hope its right

You're not "just going to have to pick one". You use the one that the nurse compared manually and said is giving the correct reading.

Just going to have to pick one and hope its right

You're not "just going to have to pick one". You use the one that the nurse compared manually and said is giving the correct reading.

This. I really don’t understand what the problem is. The nurse did a manual reading and checked one monitor against it. It was accurate so that’s the one to use.

Why are you ‘just going to have to pick one and hope it’s right’ ? It’s perfectly simple. The nurse has taken a blood pressure reading manually and calibrated one home machine as accurate to her manual reading. So whichever machine that is, that’s the one to use. The fact that she didn’t check the other one is irrelevant - her own manual reading was accurate and you’ve now got one machine calibrated to that. I really don’t see the problem OP.

OP, feel free to report any nasty or rude comments if you need too. I hope you get the situation sorted soon.

Can you not see you're doing exactly what you accused the poor nurse of? You made up your mind that she wasn't going to check the machine properly, because she knew off the bat which one would be wrong, and won't budge from that position. This is like when cheaters are paranoid about their partners. Her real crime is not pandering enough to your health anxiety.

Complaning about her would be absolutely disgusting behaviour.

I await my copy and pasted response about how the nurse told you to bin one before even looking blah blah blah.

The way to tell which machine is correct is to go to your surgery reception area and use the big old blood pressure machine in the waiting area. Then 5 minutes later try one home blood pressure machine, then five minutes later try the other home blood pressure machine. You could test each machine a few time if needed until you’re confident about which machine is most accurate

you are absolutely correct. I am shocked at some of these responses to this thread. It is the role of GP and their staff to support patients in self care . Of course the OP can ask to have her machine calibrated against the surgery machine, it's standard practice. If the OP is confused it is the job of the practice nurse to explain it so she is not. Nurses and Drs in GP surgeries are not underpaid, they are not saints and their wages are paid by the taxpayer who have a right to expect a reasonable service. Frankly if some of the people purporting to be a nurse here had worked for me and expressed these attitudes they would have been carpeted so quickly that there feet and heads would be spinning.

Given some else had this issue - could it be the nurse knew which brand was more reliable and was just confirming that one was working correctly ie agreeing with her taken reading ?

So there was no reason to test the second machine - which was likely the probelm all along.

If your still worried I'd have a chat with local pharmacist see if they do a blood pressure reading near your sister and see what they get - and see if there is a model for home mointoring they'd recommend or follow *SnailFarmingForCats *advice and get a new Omron machine and use that one.

Why do you have 2 machines anyway? One is sufficient then you wouldn’t have needed to waste the nurses time trying to check which machine is giving the correct reading.