Yes, and it is one of the simplest things you can do for yourself. High blood pressure usually has no symptoms, which is exactly why a five-minute check matters. If yours is fine, you have peace of mind. If it is higher than we would like, you have found out early, when there is most that can be done. Either way you leave knowing where you stand.

Mostly we talk. I want to hear what you have already tried, what got in the way, and what a good outcome would look like for you, because that is different for everybody.

I will go through your health history and the medicines you take, and check a few basic measurements with you. Nothing is decided on the spot unless you want it to be.

No. Everything happens in the consultation room with the door shut, including the scales.

If being weighed is something you would rather not do at all, say so when you come in. We can have the conversation without it and decide together what is useful to measure.

Not at all. Plenty of people come in to find out what the options are and go away to think about it, and that is a perfectly good use of the appointment.

If something is suitable for you I will explain what it involves and what it costs before you decide anything. You can take that away and come back.

A list of any medicines you take, including anything you have bought yourself, and anything you know about your own health history that a GP would have on file.

If you have recent readings from elsewhere - blood pressure, blood tests - bring those too. If you have none of it, come anyway; we work with what you know.