Rude gps

Same!

Eats shoots leaves.

Ehhh they have this reputation for a reason. There must also be reasons why they’re always pissed, though, so most of us have some sympathy. Having to deal with unpleasant people over the phone is horrible and probably sets them in a bad mood.

Oh come on OP, surely you know they have to ask more details so that they can make sure you get the right sort of appointment. There are signs all over my GP surgery reminding people of this. Has your surgery not moved over to online booking? Just be aware, if they have, you need to give the details of what’s wrong.

Our GP surgery has stats and many posters around the walls.
For every 50 appointments 7 don't turn up.
For every 50 appointment time slots available there are 289 requests.

Blood tests do not require a doctor.
Screening does not require a doctor.
Diabetes clinic does not require a doctors appointment.
You can self refer to NHS physio.
Tooth and mouth issues require a dentist.
We have no equipment to take foreign bodies out of eyes... see your optician.
Sexual health and contraception are dealt with at clinic x
Your pharmacist can deal with these 7 conditions... And advise on many others.

I'm guessing the receptionists are fed up of telling people that if they don't indicate the general issue, they need to mention all the above!

Ours have been pretty good over the few years. I've told them I didn't want an appointment with a GP, I just wanted referrals and they've done that twice. Once with an existing condition they had on my file and once with wanting a hearing test.

More recently I had a problem with my back and the receptionist got the doctor to ring and he prescribed for me without seeing me. She rang back to confirm I'd spoken to him too - I was impressed.

I've had some rubbish ones too and overheard some proper nasty shouting from one at someone who was a couple of minutes late. Which annoyed me as the GP I was waiting for was 40 minutes behind.

ours are lovely / you are wrong to generalise

Maybe you are the issue.

IME They are generally assertive in their gatekeeping but that will be what the practice has told them to do. They work for the practice and it isn’t a customer service job. Your retail analogy is perhaps why the interaction goes wrong. They won’t apply the customer is always right principle.

At least you can call your surgery and speak to a receptionist. All calls to my doctors surgery, which is on the East Sussex coast (as am I) go to a call centre in Manchester. It is impossible to speak to anyone at the surgery.

Only had a couple of exchanges with difficult receptionists and, usually after the fact, I tend to realise that I was being a bit brusque or had unrealistic expectations of what they could offer me. Mostly I find they are really helpful and if I just preface a moaning call (waited in the queue for 48 mins last week) with ‘this really isn’t directed at you but I am soooo frustrated and would appreciate your help’, it usually smooths things over.

You are misunderstanding I don't mind them asking for a reason but sometimes they take it in their hands to go way beyond their remit.
I think possibly some people haven't experienced these kinds of receptionists and so don't realize that they are out there. . I have also defended rerceptionists on this thread and I am well aware that there are plenty of good ones

I understand how frustrating that can be. I suffer from very real white coat hypertension and every time I get a reading at the surgery they want to send me straight to A and E. I know it's the setting and when I take it at home it's nowhere near that level. I suppose with NHS healthcare it's very hard to be treated as an individual as the resources make that difficult.

But in general rather than a case like yours, they will be bombarded with people pushing for an urgent appointment that don't need it.

Me too! 'I said turn LEFT you idiot! Now I've got to bloody recalculate the sodding route!'

Most of the receptionists at ours are okay, but there is one who puts the fear of God into you! They normally put her on answering telephones as they know she will keep the number of patients getting appointments to the minimum!

They’re told to do it so they can direct your inquiry to the correct healthcare professional. The same as an online application for an appointment requires your reason for wanting to be seen.

I actually fully understand that but if you have a rare condition for instance actually my red flags are quite different from anything that's likely to be on any standard protocol and if I follow the guidance issued by my specialist charity and endorsed by my neurologist for when to seek medical help. If I have explained this then I don't think a GP receptionist ought to try and follow any standard protocols for overriding that guidance

We don't have an option for online for same day appointments otherwise I would use that gladly

We have no choice but to ring and wait on hold by which point after half an hour or longer of waiting I can imagine that most of the people the receptionists deal with are not feeling their most cheerful. I am always polite to receptionists because I realized it must be a very difficult job but that doesn't mean I haven't come across instances of really inappropriate efforts at gatekeeping. I am a children have chronic conditions in my case quite a rare one and I know much better than a GP receptionist whether or not we need to see a GP in relation to those conditions. We each have very clear care plans that can be followed to gauge when we need to see a GP face to face.

It seems a bit pointless the asthma nurse at the doctor's surgery, for instance, taking care to prepare an asthma care plan for my children only to find that some GP receptionist thinks it doesn't apply

Likewise the charity for my rare condition gives us excellent and detailed clear guidance on when to seek GP help or when to go to A and E and we also get to know our own bodies quite well in terms of gauging the symptoms. This guidance is supported by my neurologist and if I am following that guidance I struggle to see what a GP receptionist thinks that they can add to the mix.

That attitude might be a part of the issue you encounter.

They have protocols to follow, and really simply it’s those that determine what appointments are made with who and when. Not you. They work for the practise manager, and have to follow the procedures They’re given. They generally dont have autonomy to work outside that.

When people work with that and respect that I tend to find most are positive and pleasant to interact with. When I tried to fight the systems they had to work with tended to find they got their backs up pretty quickly.

What you want from them and what they have been told to do as part of their job won’t always match.

It is annoying but as someone who had to do similar in private healthcare you are trained and have materials to identify red flag symptoms that require immediate attention/those that are more standard and can wait, which clinician etc. They will be given NHS guidelines for this to follow, not just be allowed to decide what they think.

However on the whole I agree unfortunately I've encountered some incredibly rude GP reception/admin staff

Back in the day my friend had Mr T as her sat nav voice - it was hilarious if you missed a turn as Mr T told you in no uncertain terms and finished with 'You Fool'. Loved it! Now you can only have generic male or female I think.

Doesn't your practice have the option to complete an online request for an appointment which is then triaged before an appointment date and time is issued?

The receptionists at mine are lovely, always really nice, helpful etc, the gp on the other hand 😬

Not a GP but a dentist. Our receptionists are trained to take a brief history of your problem so they can allocate an appropriate appointment. Patients are very clever at times and know that certain symptoms mean that we will automatically see them sooner. It’s amazing how many people ring up “in agony” with “severe swelling” or “extreme pain” only to present with a chipped tooth with no pain and a story that the receptionist assured them that the filling/extraction/treatment would definitely be done today.
I’ve had people who are “flying the next day/that afternoon/are attending their DDs wedding in two hours, only to deny all knowledge of their holiday etc.

Patients assume that receptionists and HCP don’t speak to each other. They do. They have also heard it all before, remember specific patients and know exactly who they are speaking to. If you always start a phone conversation with a health receptionist “I need…” then it triggers the dragon mode. Our receptionist’s favourite is when people walk in and ask to speak to a clinician “it will only take a minute” or “she won’t mind, just ask her” even though they can see the waiting room is full of patients and they were shirty with you when you were running behind at their last scheduled appointment.

You only see a fraction of what receptionists have to deal with and if you are the 20th patient that morning who absolutely has to see the doctor that day but is unwilling to offer any reason why your need is more urgent than any other patient then you will probably get the slightly wracked off receptionist response.

I have learned over the years that all receptionists are much more receptive to kindness. Give a short potted history of your problem then request an appointment. Dont make it hard for them. They really aren’t interested in your health problem they just need the info in order to allocate an appointment.They are trained to sift through information. Generally a tick box exercise that directs them. If they haven’t got an appointment that day they haven’t got one. They can’t conjure up a slot. No amount of arguing ir threatening will change the laws of physics.

I have been using the online triage system at my GPs. The request goes directly to the doctor who is triaging that day. It bypasses the reception and the doctor will prioritise patients who need to be seen or direct them to the service relevent to their request. It gives the GP the opportunity to study your medical notes and make a fuller assessment of needs. As a post cancer patient any problem that could indicate a recurrence is very rapidly addressed, I have other historic medical issues and again if I contact the GP with possible recurrences they are quick to act.

Last year I developed swelling in my hands, it was a side effect of one of the drugs I take but the GP was concerned it could also be a more symptom of more serious problem. I was quickly referred to my specialist and had an MRI within a couple of weeks. My GP had correctly diagnosed me with drug induced carpel tunnel. but was also very aware that it was just as likely to be a flare up of an endocrine problem so wasn’t taking any chances.

If you don’t want to access your GP via the receptionist use the practices online service.

Me too!

In other r words there's a big difference between the understandable efforts to filter those people who would be better off going to minor injuries for instance versus receptionists stepping way outside their level of skill and knowledge.

I think those receptionists and others were replying on this thread have only experienced appropriate questions probably don't realize how far some receptionists try and step outside their zone of knowledge and authority.