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

Is she always testing first with one, and then the other? Has she tried doing the other way around? Some people always get a high reading on the first reading, we usually advise to take 3 readings 5 minutes apart. Ignore the first and use the best of the next 2 readings.

Oh come on now OP.

You can check your blood pressure in most Chemist shops that have weight/height check machines.

We already know she has a blood pressure issue!! And to be honest, everyone's having a go like she booked the appointment herself. She messaged on our online portal explaining the problem with one machine actually reading in the high category and one very low. It was them that then gave an appointment, she didnt book it to waste their time on purpose like some comments here are suggesting
The problem is her blood pressure shoots up in the surgery so they advised home blood pressure monitoring

To save confusion I would get your sister her own new machine and no one else use it.

what I was trying to get at was if your sister's BP is extremely high, it would be better for everyone if she went to an appointment with the GP that was addressing this and her BP medication rather then splitting hairs about a machine. Because the problem of the machine has not been solved, your sister's hypertension has not been addressed and you are now worrying even more.

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

Hi :) yeah we've tried it both ways round and its always the same amount of difference whichever way we do it, with the same machine being 15-20 points lower on systolic than the other. Even if we test on the machine reading lower first, the other machine will still be 15-20 points higher after sitting another 5 minutes with feet flat on floor and back supported and arm at heart level

Also, are both a good fit on her arm? If the cuff is too big or too small for her then that will affect the reading.

Some people naturally tense once the blood pressure machine starts whirring. Your sister should let someone else check her blood pressure while avoiding looking at the machines (unless they make distinctive sounds). And take 3 readings by each machine. If the first reading is a lot higher I would be inclined to discard it and believe the other 2.

It's not the nurse's job to calibrate home (or even surgery) divices. Saying this, she could have been nicer.

Are the cuffs interchangeable? Try seeing if it’s the cuff that’s making the difference.

Otherwise try testing at the pharmacy or borrow a third machine to see which number is the closest match.

It has been addressed though
The problem is this we think she has some whitecoat hypertension so her blood pressure will shoot up in the GP surgery anyway, which is why they request 7 day home blood pressure monitoring so trying do do the right thing by monitoring at home

But the readings from one machine put her in the stage 2 hypertension category. The other puts her in the perfectly normal bp category

High, yep. This is one of the first things we did. Measured to get the right size cuff

Chuck both machines out, buy her a new one and just use that on the same arm each time.

My GP surgery positively encourages you to make an appointment if you're concerned about your BP and especially if you are also on medication for it already.
It's an absolutely standard nurse appointment.

Hi, yeah the cuffs are interchangeable and we've tried other and its always the same difference no matter which way round we do it. If we test the lower machine first and then the one reading higher, it will always be the same machine reading low and the other reading high

High BP readings need a nurse or GP appointment to treat the actual problem though not to test out all your home machines . I’m surprised you got a nurse to take a manual BP

And no the nurse was not unprofessional so please do not think about complaining.

You and your sister both went to an appointment - you both went - are you 5 years old?

Why not? It is a basic skill.

You do realise BP isn't a static number, it changes, second by second!

Still a waste of NHS resources.

This is not the nurse’s job. You shouldn’t be using two machines. You should be taking multiple readings from one machine and recording the lowest. Alternatively have it measured by a pharmacist.

I think the best thing to do is complete the 7 day diary on both machines and give both in to the surgery and let them interpret it.
Unless you've a got someone who can verify at home with a manual reading i can't see another option.

so rather than you go to use the appointment to actually check your blood pressure, you sent your sil? this makes no sense

And that's exactly what we are trying to actually verify!! If it is truly high as one machine says or normal as the other says

I'm sorry but this is outrageous. Would you turn up for a GPs appointment to check whether a pair of scales worked?

It's not their job to check equipment you purchased yourself. She can take someone's blood pressure and tell you the reading.

But do you really think you can just bring in a bag full of potentially faulty home diagnostic equipment and expect a medical professional to test each one in turn? For what reason exactly?

It's bang out of order to do such things and block out services needed for sick people.

You should just buy a new one if you think it's faulty. It's not the NHS's problem.