Re: This beats everything!!

I have the same BP monitor my GP uses, an Omron which cost £25 and is worth every penny. I found it impossible to get an accurate reading in the GPs surgery where the drive there sends my BP sky high.

I think everyone over 60 should check their own BP regularly and keep a BP diary also check their pulse rate for irregularities, if everyone did so it would prevent many thousands of strokes every year.

Re: This beats everything!!

We've been using an Omron BP tester we bought from a local independent pharmacy years ago on a monthly basis and recording the results on a spreadsheet ever since.

When I was about to be scheduled for a hernia operation, I had my blood pressure taken, and was told it was too high for me to have the operation. I was referred back to my GP. She said to take my BP 3x in the morning and 3x in the evening for a week then bring all the data for her to look at. It was at this point she prescribed my BP medication, which I've been taking since. I had to repeat the BP readings for another week after I'd been on the meds for a week. I had my hernia operation about 2 months later.

Re: This beats everything!!

Carol is being asked to go buy a bp monitor and then do their job for them. Costs for a service that should be free at the point of access. There will be people who can afford to do this and those who cannot. The whole point of having free care is to ensure everyone has equal access and not a two tier system.

Re: This beats everything!!

The nurse might continue to take BP reading if pressed but only at the surgery.

The cost could be prohibitive if the NHS offered to supply home BP monitors. Every household would eventually expect to be supplied with one whether they could afford their own or not.

If monitors were loaned out when a series of BP readings is required, they could end up being like NHS crutches. Many not being returned.

Re: This beats everything!!

If they want to save money by encouraging patients to self-monitor and self report then the cost of providing BP monitors is a tiny fraction of the cost of paying for GP nurses to home visit and do the admin themselves for a whole year. Similarly the cost of an appointment in the surgery. Usually these nurses are not employed directly by the surgery but by a community hospital trust. if they want to do something like this then they should do it properly providing equipment and an app. It's not a bad idea in theory but practicalities mean that some elderly are unable to monitor their own BP because they have high care needs, do not own a smartphone, cannot use a smartphone due to health issues etc. It presumes there is an unpaid carer around to do the legwork. That is a bloomin' cheek IMO.

Re: This beats everything!!

Here a special type of monitor is loaned out. It is similar to the usual monitor with an upper arm cuff with a device worn on a belt round the waist.

Following a diagnosis of very high blood pressure, before having a heart attack, I attended the Health Centre and had one of these fitted by a nurse. That was for a period of 24 or 48 hours, I don't recall which, then another visit to have it removed. The information collected is then downloaded for further investigation.

One further point to bear in mind. I had my blood pressure checked regularly at Well Man clinics, these were then discontinued. After finding I had such high blood pressure it was realised I could have been like that for up to ten years. I was seldom unwell so never went to the GPs, I was according to my present GP "their worst type of patient" as I didn't have a regular blood pressure check!

Now I am checked every year at an annual health review plus I check my blood pressure on my own monitor a couple of times every two to three weeks. There was, before coronavirus, a machine at the Health Centre where I could check my blood pressure regularly if I wished, with the results handed in at Reception if they were high. These then went to a specialist Nurse who entered them on my records, checked them out and would contact me if necessary.

High blood pressure often has no indications, hence it is known as "the silent killer". For that reason, plus my personal experience, I reckon it's necessary to have it checked regularly or check it yourself. My heart attack was believed to have been caused by prolonged high blood pressure – nothing more needs to be said.

Re: This beats everything!!

I agree Mart
There are BP monitors on loan at the practice I use but only 'for limited periods'.
I was requested to keep a BP diary for few weeks and I asked to borrow a monitor but they were 'all out with patients' so rather than wait an indefinite period I purchased a monitor preferring to spend what little money I have on my health than on something of less importance.

Re: This beats everything!!

The point isn't that high blood pressure shouldn't be kept an eye on because of the dangers involved. It certainly should. It's about if the monitor should be supplied by the patient if the medical profession asks for regular readings to be taken.

A relative of mine was put on constant monitoring and I know the NHS do supply the necessary equipment for that. It's more the ordinary BP monitor for daily or perhaps twice daily checks that I don't think the NHS should necessarily supply. Maybe they would in cases of hardship where one can't be afforded? What I can't quite understand is objecting on principle when asked to buy one.

As we get older and more prone to blood pressure problems, BP monitors should be as much part of the medical cupboard as the thermometer that we buy. We were asked to buy one, so just did. I never thought to object. They aren't all that expensive these days.

Re: This beats everything!!

Most people can afford £20 for a BP monitor .
What you want is utopian there will always be a two tier system .

Re: This beats everything!!

what they expect from patients is utopian from their POV