Why aren’t doctor’s receptionists more discrete?

But then how would they ever learn? She's actually doing them a favour.
I think there should be a Society for the Protection of English Spelling and Grammar.
We’d all sleep easier in our beds.
Disclaimer: a SPESAG may well exist, I hope so.
Further disclaimer: I'm a retired journalist and editor and yes, this does matter and not only to pedants like me. Employers tend to value it too.

I was also going to say we need more dicks on the internet but thought better of it.

Yeah, I always speak to practice managers to get ahead of it. If receptionists ask me about medication, I say I don't discuss that in public and will need a private room.

The worst GP I had, they had the poor lady on reception taking calls facing us all, it had been refurbed to be super open, glass everywhere, and she would be repeating people's names, details, diagnosis.. so uncomfortable. We all live locally to each other - this isn't some anonymous big city. It's appalling.

Wait until you realise anyone can call with your name, DOB and address and get any info they want about you. I once asked if I could add a password to my account, same as you know: every other business out there manages, and they said it wasn't possible.

No safety at all in our deepest, most personal information.

It’s utterly mad - here in Ireland we have GDPR rules re privacy yet we are supposed to give so much private information orally to doctor’s receptionists or pharmacy assistants in a room full of people.
If you are in the waiting room at my GP you can overhear half of a phone conversation with the receptionist and garner quite a bit of information about whoever is ringing and their ailments.
Likewise returning something in a shop you may be asked for personal details with a line of customers behind you.🙄

I genuinely think they get a kick out of it. It’s a power play, and a pathetic one at that. They prey on people at their most vulnerable and force them to practically beg to see a doctor.

It Akso both ways.
Because when you’re given the wrong information, information changes to fit THEIR script etc… theres no wonder why people are annoyed.

Fwiw I was in a surgery that was crap. The woman at the head of it was known to go onto our town FB page to berate patients who weren’t happy because they could not see a GP - think asking a 78yo on chemotherapy to come and start queuing at 7.30am (the latest) to have an appointment re side effects of the chemo. In winter. Receptionists were awful too. And it leaked onto the GP too.

Then I changed surgery. You get same day appointment. If needed they give an OHH appointment. Receptionists are not a problem. GP and nurses are 100x better in their bed side manners.

Management here is the issue.

I've often thought this at the doctor surgery.
Where's the GDPR?
X

My GP's receptionist told my mum I had test results waiting to be picked up! I was an adult at the time and couldn't believe it.

the stranger is also anonymous and it’s good to be able to avoid making mistakes. Or is it better to let the person be judged silently by loads more people in future?

I always think this when collecting prescriptions, I don’t want to everyone knowing the first line of my address thanks ! You never know who’s listening.

One surgery I was in had a separate room if you wanted a private chat.

The one I’m at atm doesn’t. But then you get an answer within half a day with an eConsult, appointment the next day for an urgent case (it would treated as such)

GP surgeries generally dint seem to care about confidentiality.

I mean I don’t disagree. But I do feel like there are far more fundamental issues with GP surgeries that I’d prefer were resolved first.

Like the utter inability to get an appointment in the first place (at mine anyway).

She is performing a useful service.

If this lady can't transfer information accurately from one written form to another, how does she cope in the job and how on earth did she get the job in the first place?

Absolutely, but the nosy parkers in the waitimg room might file it away and gossip later. That is the issue.

I am acutely conscious of this when I am on reception. If I’m answering the phone I’ll pull the screen across and will always ask the patient to confirm their name and first line of address if necessary (the phone system picks up their details).
If I’m handing out a prescription and we need them to confirm information (and I’m pretty sure I know who it is) then I’ll just say “Are you at number 7?”
Sometimes we have had people come in in an absolute state and I’ve always flagged it to a team member, hopped up and dragged them into a side room with me, for example.
It’s not acceptable for half the waiting room to know someone’s medical information.

This, the receptionist won’t really care that you are smug and feel self righteous in your “shutting her up”. She’ll be waiting tor the next person and you and that person won’t be even be a memory!

given the level of aggression that some feel appropriate in directing towards medical receptionists, I can’t imagine why they wouldn’t want to be stuck in a private room with patients!

Presumably the people waiting would continue to stand and wait while the receptionist stepped aside to have the exact same conversation with the patient they’re currently dealing with, just with added privacy and dignity?

Perhaps tell the management of the surgery?

You can be a pedant without being a dick and correcting strangers on the internet.

The girl serving me asked me loudly if I could list all the medications I was on so that she could check that I was OK to receive the Co-Codamol.

Dmum used to carry round a list of her and dad medication to hand over - think FIL does similar now - partly as there are so many with complex names and partly as I've found recently with DS meds people don't listen when you say and guess or think they know - and if it's written that happens less.

I think they have some 'rules', i.e. what they can and can't do. Whether it is polite it is a different thing.
Tbh, I think they have all gone collectively crazy - you can't look at your notes and you can't verify what nonsense they are writing there, but you can shout your symptoms for all to hear. As I said, they have gone barking mad, but who can blame them, if the world has gone barking mad?

And not just doctors' receptionists, it's exactly the same in chemists. I was in Boots yesterday in a mile-long queue, heard all about my fellow queuers ailments.
Edited to say I've just seen the posts saying exactly this!

It depends on the surgery and how close the waiting chairs are to the reception desk, but yes I agree.

Last year I had to go to A&E in the local hospital because I just could not get a GP appointment. My period had lasted 2 weeks that month, and that morning I was passing huge blood clots and fainting. So I went to the hospital. The receptionist asked me to read out my name, phone number, address, and all details of what had happened that morning. I had to stand there and recount how I passed huge blood clots from my vagina, while she asked approximately what size they were, how red was the blood, etc.

The chairs were incredibly close to the desk. Kids were running around, and every chair was taken. It was packed.

Yes there needs to be some sort of privacy/room but I won't hold my breath.

I had to take a sample for a chlamydia test in as we were having IVF. The nurse booked it and I took it in and the receptionist was adamant that I needed to state what it was for to a huge queue and a room full of people. I told her too look it up as the the nurse had requested it. It was utterly ridiculous. I ended up writing it down I think. There were families of the children I teach int he waiting room

I was in our local Boots the other day wanting Co-Codamol for migraine. There was a long silent queue behind me. The girl serving me asked me loudly if I could list all the medications I was on so that she could check that I was OK to receive the Co-Codamol. I wasn’t really ready for the question and ended up mumbling the name of one medication but afterwards I felt furious, firstly with her for putting me in this position and secondly with myself for revealing personal information to a whole queue of people. I now answer ‘none’ when asked this question. I know it’s probably what’s she’s trained to do and the reasons for doing it, but the loud public nature of the request was just embarrassing and inappropriate.