There was an interesting story on the news this morning about the best way to diagnose people to see if they suffer from high blood pressure.
A quarter of patients may find visiting a GP stressful, leading to misdiagnosis and being given drugs they do not need.Patients in England and Wales will be offered extra checks using a mobile device that records blood pressure over 24 hours, says the watchdog NICE.
The BBC response? Can this be afforded because of the dreaded (but imaginary) cuts?
Ha! Yes, I couldn’t believe my ears. The poor scientist was completely wrong footed, as this had nothing whatsoever to do with his research (which was that 25% of blood pressure tests taken in a GP surgery were too high and led to misdiagnosis and unnecessary treatment, probably as people are anxious at the time of the test, therefore patients should wear a monitor for a few days to get an average reading).
But the presenter, think it was Justin Webb, was not happy with what the chap said and asked him AGAIN, ‘Surely hard pressed GPs will not be able to afford this in the new commissioning system’, but the chap had gathered his thoughts by now and explained each practice would only need one or two and this would cover its costs in under a year…
If this isn’t direct, explicit anti-government bias at peak listening time, what the heck is?
Makes my blood boil!!!
Yes my thoughts exactly! I only listened to Toady for about 10 mins this morning (before quickly switching to a soothing cd on my drive to work). Justin or Evan (whichever) could not comprehend that the NHS with all its cuts could cope with this change… yet IIRC the interviewee said the cost was £1500 per machine per surgery!! This just after they had a cosy chat with some ‘expert Libyan commentator’ who is sitting in with them for the 3rd day in succession ‘We’ll have to start paying you a fee’ he quipped… sick bag please.
Precisely the same narrative on B-BBC1 this morning – £1500 cost per unit (3 required per 6,000 patient practice) – too much for PCTs to fund – would pay for themselves in year 1 & save money thereafter.
At least the presenter didn’t start on ‘the cuts’…
The best way to cure high blood pressure is to stop listening to the BBC.
But since I have to pay for it, I don’t see why I bloody should.
Damn. That’s my blood pressure up again.
Funny thing is some years ago I had my blood pressure monitered by my Doctor in just this way. Lasted about a week I seem to remember. Why do they call it “news”, the better description is on the digital TV text version…”all the “stories” from around the world, fiction all of it.
This is total non-news. So called “White Coat hypertension” – some people get anxious when a man in a white coat measures you – has been recognised since BP testing began. That’s why sensible GPs take the best of two or three readings during a consultation.
24 hour tape monitoring is complete overkill. It will show that your BP changes throughout the day and night according to what you are doing. When I had one done it showed my BP went through the roof in a very stressful business meeting, way over what it was when the GP was measuring it.
BP is taken with other measures, including blood tests, and family history to assess risk and decide how to manage BP.
This is a made up story spun to inveigh against no-specific “cuts”. GPs are given payment incentives to manage patients BP, precisely because it reduces mortality rates on Heart disease. May be incentive payments should be reconsidered, BBC? Not such a good story, eh?
First cod-science on climate change, now cod- medicine from the BBC
I`d keep this to yourself Mr Calling!
Otherwise I see a load of tie-dye batik people in pastel shades wandering round our Wellness Emporia (hospitals in old money!) as the solution to their problem. All those horrid white coats…induces racism I suppose.
Kicking the BBC off any option in a hospital ward could only do more good.
Got to be a research grant here….racist lab coats to be used only in BBC dramas and archive clips of “fighting AIDS” or whatever.
On Look North yesterday Mason acolyte Len Tingle reported on the rail strike by ASLEF members who are upset at a mere 5% pay rise. We got 2 vox pop contributions, 1 said that the reduced service during the strike would lead to trains being more crowded, the 2nd blamed the strike on Government cuts. No commuters to be found expressing a little dissatisfaction with the drivers?
Reckon that carrying all these analogue johnnies to the landfill so the Beeb can sell me their digital is likely to bring on an upsurge of sore backs and general poorliness!
Feeling a bit peaky already…can I share Pattens next stretch limo to Harley St to confirm my “hypothesis”…and tell that nice Steve Jones all about it afterwards?
Think you can catch this disabling fear from touchscreens too…so that`s my benefits secured now!
Thank you Auntie Beeb!