Gp Receptionist

[Sloneranger97]

I work as a gp receptionist . AMA

Do you have access to patients records

Have you ever had a sneaky peak, even when not allowed, at records of people you know, and then blabbed medical secrets about them to someone you know?

How do you not end up knowing/remembering things about people you know when their letters from the hospital etc come to you and you have to file them.. I get that they aren't supposed to let on that they know, or reveal the information to anyone else, but I still don't like the fact that they know.

Do you worry that you are having to triage people without medical knowledge, and that sometimes because of financial pressure in the practice to hire alternate roles, and pressure on appointments with GPs, people end up being sent to PAs, nurses, paramedics, and other roles in the practice where more serious conditions might end up being missed?

Are most letters from the hospital very poorly written - both in terms of punctuation and grammar, but also in missing information or putting misleading or wrong information about what actually happened during an appointment? Do you think there should be a better system to get this information attached to a patient's record, given that GPs often don't need/want to read updates about something they aren't treating, and when multiple different duty GPs are reading the letters anyway so it's not even providing continuity of care?

To a certain degree yes , depending on your role. For example , someone in senior admin /Pa or a clinician will have more access. Occasionally we do have to source around for any records/information that patients think are missing.

Absolutely not , never ! Personally confidentiality is one of the most important things in my role . I have had instances where a patient asked a receptionist “have you seen/heard what’s been happening with me” in a “friendly” manner , the receptionist answered yes and had a huge complaint made against her. Anytime I have to access a patients records it either if they have a direct query or I am being asked to by a senior member of the team (so tasks they set receptionists / admin). I have worked in practices where I’ve known the patients , but have never gone out of my way to peak at records unless again I have been tasked to. Thankfully(for both patients and staff) everything is audit trailed !

What is the most common illness you get people coming in for?

What is the most outrageous reason anyone has ever given for requiring an appointment?

Thank you! X

What does a typical day look like for you?

Hi !

Most common : that’s quite difficult as I find it varies depending on the weather ! However throughout the year mental health illness never fail to appear. Throughout the winter the calls and queries are ENDLESS, a lot of the time it’ll be common colds that patients want appointments for , regardless of the gp advising them to get over the counter medication for the first 3-5 days, and if worsens then they can contact us again. Summer it’s much much quieter!

Most outrageous: a patient wanted me to book an appointment, for the gp to write a letter to a specific high street shop to allow them to go back after being banned !

Hi ,
The standard is opening the practice in the morning , getting ready to receive patients . Anything from there varies. Paperwork can really mount up within minutes and so can the footfall of patients coming into the practice , and the endless queries from clinicians .

Mainly it’s logging onto the computers/ portals and taking the day from there. Remembering to keep an eye on all tasks you’ve sent and been set

@Sloneranger97 thank you!
I can see why colds and MH would be 'popular' that's the wrong word, lol.

Haha at the person wanting a letter to a shop! I presume excusing them from stealing due to a 'manic episode'?

One more if that's ok

• what's the one thing a patient can do to make you instantly

A) like them B) think theyre an arse?

Thank you again, it's very interesting x

Is their anything in your role that would shock the general public what you have to do or are responsible for

No worries !

A) respond with the same general tone as me , I have encountered patients who have speech issues, hearing impairments, blind , English isn’t their first language , mental health illness and I always know when a patient is treated me like a HUMAN BEING (you’d be surprised how much receptionist are spoken at instead of to , and vice versa unfortunately) . Generally I have always been told I am a nice receptionist so always get a little shocked when a patient is rude .

B) Other than the obvious , shouting , swearing , threats , intimidation and racial abuse. I’m not a fan of being lectured like a child or when a patient is being obviously difficult , I.e offering an appointment and nothing is enough for them ( time , day , dr , weather ) . I’d like to say I do always work WITH patients to find a mutual solution.

Are you a registered patient at the practice where you work or is that not allowed?

@Sloneranger97 you sound like a legend! I think it makes such a difference if the practice is run well. But also you sound like you've got a great manner and natural ability with patients.
I salute you! X

I was a gp receptionist and every single thing you do relating to patient records is logged. It says who looked at it and what changes were made. I presumed all gp surgerys did this.

Do staff talk about patients in the staff room. ? Also if you like hurt your wrist or something could you just say to one of the drs can you have a quick look at this like off record

Can you ask the doctors questions? So for example if an urgent referral wasn't sent has urgent could you speak to the doctor about it or would the pt need to do that?xx

Hiya!

no i’m not registered where I work, from what I know it’s not allowed .

@Sloneranger97 I always tell everyone being a GP receptionist is such a demanding role and honestly the hardest job I've ever had. So well done! It's often a thankless task. I appreciate every GP surgery employee soooo much!

I never go near the staff room as there’s enough bitchy staff roaming around the practice talk less of around a table , hahahaha! However sometimes staff have a moan about an experience they’ve had with a patient . 😊

Hi ,

The doctors will fill out a form and tick whether it’s a 2ww , urgent or routine . We read those THOROUGHLY when doing the referral , if ever it’s been sent incorrectly we can cancel and re-do . The form goes with the referral and the clinic / hospital’s PA/ secretary or duty consultant will scan through this to ensure that it has been made correctly or if they want to make an adjustment I.e refer elsewhere . If any errors are made, the socialised clinic/hospital will always email us or contact us through the referral system.😊xxx

Hi, not really .

for me I always have at the back of my mind that this could be the last time I speak to a patient, so I always make sure I deal with any queries or issues thoroughly to the best of my ability. Also hearing that a patient you saw regularly(or any patient for that matter) has passed away is never easy, and in my experience just gets harder. Xx

Does your surgery do E consult . As a patient I love it ..Do the staff too ?

I have lovely reception staff though so thank you for the challenging job you do

Hiya ,

we are introducing this into the practice . I have e consult with my personal practice and LOVE IT.

thanks for the thanks 😊, and I appreciate all the patients as well xxx

You may have missed my earlier questions.

But I have another. I watch GPs behind closed doors. Do you think it's quite accurate? (from the receptionists point of view) - or if you know, do the doctors think so too? The rate of mental health consultations is very high, which is probably realistic. It seems like another world from 2015-2018 when it was filmed, though - those doctors are always telling people to come back to see how things are tomorrow, or later in the day, or in two weeks, etc, which never happens now at mine; you have to wait weeks to make an appointment (even if the doctor has said come back next week!). Or they are ringing the hospitals to talk to the doctors there, sending people in not just to A&E, getting paramedics and ambulances to the practice if someone needs it - not waiting hours for it, and so on. Has your practice changed as much with the pandemic/austerity/NHS crisis too?

Do you get to know some of the older patients personally, and have a chat etc with them, when they're in so often?