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

Yes, I understand how blood pressure is correct and no both machines are not correct at all. Tried it both ways round, using the machine reading lower first and then the machine reading higher. And the opposit way round. And the same machine always reads so much lower no matter which way round we do it

But the GP getting incorrect information from the 7 days tests isn't a waste of his time?

Test it one machine as the nurse advised have no idea why she’s doing it on two

Oh yeah, definitely wouldnt have wanted the nurse to check machines and a weeks worth of am and pm readings too haha. The reason for getting both checked was to actually complete a 7 day monitoring form with the machine that turned out to be the most accurate

I was called into GP for a similar thing. Going by their readings I should be on meds for hypertension. According to my machine, not. So, had to go in, with my readings and machine and yes, white coat syndrome. So, not stupid at all to want to check it out - could be saving the NHS zillions of pounds for medication I don’t need.
Go again and take the other machine, see what happens then?!

(probably better trying local pharmacist and see if they can check them)

This is all very confusing.

If your sister needs to monitor for 7 days why wouldn't she just use the one machine that she was given to do so?

Use one machine only, don’t think they are ever as reliable as manual readings, but , provided batteries are good they are accurate enough and as others have said, BP varies, do t get hung up on taking readings, even if you have high blood pressure you do t need to be constantly checking it

She wasn't given a machine....... they are our own machines

I'm baffled that you think it's within the remit of the NHS to perform checks to verify your own blood pressure equipment is working correctly! Surely if you are getting unusual readings, you can go to a pharmacy and check your blood pressure there? I'm not surprised the nurse was snippy and irritated. I'm surprised she didn't tell you to stop wasting her time!

So she was told to monitor for 7 days but not given a machine?

No, we were told to use our own machine....

Ok but was it the same or similar to the one you use at home?

Seeing the nurse to have your blood pressure checked following a high home reading is the right thing to do.

Expecting the nurse to check your machines to work out which one is most accurate is ridiculous and a complete waste of NHS resources.

Again......... it was not us who requested the appointment. We didnt phone and book it ourselves, we didnt even book it ourselves online!!! We sent a message on our online portal explaining the issue how one machine was giving very high readings and the other low.... a healthcare assistant triaged and gave the appointment. If it was so unreasonable they would not have given an appointment!

Thats the issue, you can't compare 1 reading taken in the surgery to readings taken at home. Yes the one in the surgery was high... and would match the one giving very high readings at home. But the surgery reading may only have been high due to whitecoat hypertension if that makes sense? Some people get whitecoat hypertension where BP shoots up in medical setting. It might actually be normal at home

What did Dr Google say? Complain to PALS that your medical knowledge is greater than the trained staff at your surgery and raise holy hell, I would 🙄

or maybe, take a deep breath, say you’re worried and let the PROFESSIONALS do their job, instead of telling them what they should be doing?.

can you confirm if your medical experience and training is beyond that that can be found on’t inter web?

Again..... if it was that ridiculous the healthcare assistant who triaged our message and then booked the appointment saying to being both machines in would not have done that!

Where did i ever bring my own medical experience into it?

The way you talk, suggests that you know far more than the experts so maybe look in the mirror?

So what’s the point in keep taking the frigging thing then? Start again, use one machine go from there.

It does not at all, honestly some comments on here are so harsh

If you read reviews of blood pressure machines on Amazon lots of people have done this because they're getting completely different readings. It all depends on how well they're calibrated etc. a few people even went to A&E because their machine told them they were about to drop dead! So you are not being U at all OP. Some of these machines really cause unnecessary worry.

Tell you something that is outrageous-my mum who is on meds took her blood pressure at the doctors surgery, it was ridiculously low. We worried all night about it, thought she could pass out any minute. Next day she goes in and tells reception and they say "Oh yeah the BP machine is on the blink" 🙄! No note to say it's giving completely wrong readings or anything, shocking.

It was the nurses job to check your BP with the surgery's machine. She should not get involved in "checking machines" or using patient's own machines.
Your sister should not of been involved in your appointment.
My best advice to you, is to stop checking your own and everyone elses BP. Have it checked by the nurse or GP at agreed intervals or if feeling unwell,or with a machine supplied by the GP, if they ever request regular home recordings for a week. This will avoid regular checks, with various machines, feeding your anxiety.

Anyone about to close this thread now as some comments in here are actually very harsh. And as others have pointed out, their GP Surgeries have done exactly the same thing with testing machines

Actually as others have pointed out, some surgeries now encourage using your own machine and are happy to check so not that unreasonable