Why?

Why is it that patients who buy home monitoring blood pressure measuring machines, who record it 5 or more times a day on a spreadsheet that they give to you, who also attend nurse clinics where their blood pressure is taken sometimes the day before you see them always ask if you would “just” take their blood pressure?

Surely this is pandering to the pathetic worried well? Just in case one of the following:

their one Campbell de Morgan spot
their verruca
their paracetamol relieved headache of seconds duration
their self inflicted Gaviscon eased indigestion
their coital avoiding headache
their red face
their feeling dizzy
their not feeling right or myself
their I went to the gym and the instructor felt that a blood pressure of 110/80 at age 97 was a bit high/low

is a sign of high blood pressure?

Patients always know when their blood pressure is high for they can feel it is so when it never is. Could this be a huge revenue earner for the health service?

If you buy a television, even a computer capable of watching TV be it broadcast or via the internet, a DVD/video recorder or mobile phone that can receive TV in the UK you are asked to provide your name rank and serial number and address to the retailer which is then sent off to the TV licensing authorities who check if you have a TV licence.

Perhaps we should have a scheme whereby if you buy a blood pressure machine your details including NHS number are sent off to the new commissioning board who would automatically disqualify you from ever having your blood pressure taken again for you have opted for private healthcare? Given the state of NHS IT when you next see your GP a huge flashing screen would say to any nurse/doctor/healthcare assistant ineligible for NHS BP care and smack a £20 charge if patient asks for their BP to be “just” checked.

Sound familiar? The pandering to the pathetic well is a growth industry and should be ripe for Government picking? Instant deficit reducer. Instant pandering to the pathetic well reducer of unnecessary surgery attendances for many of these patients always opt to be seen within 48 hours or as an “emergency”.

Praise be to the Party for encouraging people to pay for their cake and eat it and then to come back for seconds they don’t need or pay for.

PS we at ND Central do not have a problem with BP monitoring and some of us have in the past regularly done 5 minutely BP readings for when you are bleeding to death from a knife wound it is then useful. When you are a bleeding heart forget it.