I upset a lady at GP surgery today

This. The ageism on here is appalling.

It might take a long time to get another GP's appointment if the pharmacist recommends that, and the pharmacist won't know why the doctor has made the decision and, in some cases, whether it's in error. They could say whether these are generic drugs, but that's not the only possibility. So it's easier and more efficient to check at source.

The only infuriating aspect was the lady repeating, "but no one told me my medicine would be changed" every time the receptionist spoke to her. Looking back I think she was just being bloody-minded, because she seemed obstinate, not confused.

I think that when the receptionist should have suggested a phone call later with the GP - sometimes brand changes can have adverse affects on people - slight tweaks in formulas affecting how they work for indiduals or few times it's wrong - wrong dose.

Also know my Mum had to get very obsonate with receptionist at some points who'd insist on one thing then while later admit yes they had the test results/letters or perscription - Dad was very ill and to him it was often vital to them it was another task amoung many.

I do think I'd have had to pipe up though - (though having worked with general public waiting for a service time perceptions are frequently exaggerated or just off ) but it would have been an excuse me - sorry - I've been waiting x minutes and I'm going to miss my appointment as can't check it - and would expect many others to pitch in at this point as in same boat - and that would result in giving receptionist a change to move her to one side or call for extra help.

I would not personally have commented on her actual convesation - however frustrated I actually was with it - as that's when people will judge you as rude and impatient.

I do understand what you mean.

I guess I'm thinking of my grandma who is almost 90 and bright as a button - she has a lot of prescriptions and I could imagine her being anxious if one of them changed unexpectedly. I would like to think that in this scenario the queue of people behind her would have some empathy and handle the situation a bit more sensitively than OP did.

I'd have upset her as well. People chatting about their private lives whilst ignoring customers or patients really gets my goat as well.

Much easier to ask the pharmacy. They will have your prescribing history and can very quickly check for you and let you know if you need to speak to GP.

I hope someone sticks up for you when you are a confused elderly lady, OP.

The receptionist needed to handle that better, but what is she supposed to do?

Still not sure the age is relevant.

Dementia is more common the older you get so that might make the lady's age relevant if she seemed confused or couldn't understand. However, the OP - who was there - is at pains to say the lady was "bright as a button" and in the OP's opinion "she was just being bloody-minded, because she seemed obstinate, not confused".
People of all ages can be obstinate.
Allow old people to be just people. They're not all "lovely, sweet little old biddies" or "cantankerous old gits" or other phrases that dehumanise and stereotype old people.

I sort of disagree here.

In this scenario, if the person holding up the queue at the doctors were elderly or disabled it would have a bearing on how I interpret the situation and I expect it would for most others too. I would probably have more patience, although I recognise not all disabilities are visible.

Whether the person is black or white has no relevance whatsoever.

Just mentally substitute black or disabled for old/elderly in this probably entirely fictional story and see how that sounds.

Sounds like you were a little bit mean tbh.

The receptionist clearly wasnt dealing with her issue correctly.

How would you want an elderly relative to be treated? It wasnt your place to speak to her.

OP addressed this last night - they have one but it wasn't working.

FYI if you select the 'See All' link on the OP you can see subsequent posts from the OP without having to read the whole thread.

Yes. I had lots of similar experiences in a caring role. It is terrifying to think what must happen when people don't have an effective advocate.

And not everyone knows how to advocate for themselves effectively and politely. This woman possibly wasn't doing it effectively - but better that she should be listened to than pushed aside. OP also wasn't particularly effective - 25 minutes - or polite. These are skills to work on.

the receptionist should have said: step aside one moment. Ill check these patients in and then come back to you

old lady was just old ladying

Well no, it was. What did you want OP to do? Stand there silently until she missed her appointment?

Why do all that hedging for someone whose being an ignorant pain in the ass?

this is why surgeries have ipads to check in with

But the title of the post is, OP upset her. And leaving and putting a brave face on things, even reacting aggressively to aggression, doesn't mean she wasn't upset. So I wouldn't set much store by this. OP was wrong to interfere and criticize her. It was completely unnecessary.

I've once been in a similar situation to this older lady and getting nowhere with the receptionist so I requested a call with the GP to sort it out. To be fair I wouldn't expect a receptionist to deal with that issue. However I would expect the receptionist to have some nous and signpost me elsewhere to resolve the issue, even it meant having to sit in the waiting room for a while until it's fixed.
Meanwhile the receptionist can then deal with the others waiting to check in.

I wouldn't be happy if my medication had been changed without knowing beforehand. Medication issues are sometimes complex and difficult to deal with and should be dealt with by the appropriate people.

Did someone actually say “doddery old fart”? Really? Jesus Christ!!!

People don't always understand how hard it is to get the medication you need and how persistent you have to be.

DD1 is very unwell. She had a review with her psychiatrist and she said she would prescribe something to calm her down. It was urgent, so she would write an urgent letter to the GP and send it by email that day.

I told the psychiatrist that the surgery would find it hard to deal with it urgently because their systems are inefficient and they have so many letters each day. She said 'but the letter will sayit's urgent.

I got confirmation from the team that the letter had been sent at 4.30pm. I was sitting in the GP surgery waiting for it to arrive. I went to they pharmacy section and told them they had received an email with an urgent request for medication. They said they hadn't. I showed them my copy of the email and said they had. So they asked me to forward it to them again so they could find it. They said it would be issued that evening.

I then went around to the pharmacy and they didn't have the medication in stock but ordered it so it would come in the next morning.

We visited the pharmacy the next day. No prescription. So I phoned the GP surgery to ask and was told it hadn't been actioned as promised, so the manager would action it 'once she had done the school run'.

I then waited until 5.30pm and telephoned the surgery, reminding them that the pharmacy closes at 6pm and we'd already waited 24 hours for a drug that DD1 absolutely needed urgently (as stated by the psychiatrist). I was told she was 'on the triage list but was next in line'.

So I went to the pharmacy, and they checked for a prescription. Nothing. They know us very well so they said to sit down and they would keep refreshing the screen. So I sat there for 20 minutes while they kept refreshing the screen and eventually the prescription appeared 7 minutes before closing time. So they ran around grabbing boxes and labelling them and checking drugs, so that I could take it home before they closed.

None of that would have happened if I hadn't gone from place to place, chasing and pushing to get it done.

It's OP who's shaming the woman.

Some young people like chatting too. And it doesn't sound like this person was 'enjoying' a good natter. Either way, it's the receptionist's job to deal with it and manage the rest of the queue.

I don’t think you are wrong entirely but I think you could have perhaps interjected in a nicer way:

oh that sounds like a nightmare nobody told you? I’m sorry to interject can we maybe just sign in as that seems to be taking a while to sort? Sorry I’m just anxious we will miss our appointments.

I’ve not experienced this in a GP surgery, that must be incredibly stressful, but I have had in the queue for the checkout in Waitrose. Combo of middle class entitlement, stupidity and liking the sound of their own voice.