Why are so many GP receptionists rude?

[Jenna2212]

I don't think I've ever heard of a surgery where people have positive things to say about the receptionists. At a time when people are most vulnerable and in need, why do GP surgeries tend to recruit such hostile people to greet sick people?

Have you had any bad experiences with your GP surgery? Feel free to post below. 💊

Funny how pre-covid, GPs kept saying they didn't want to do phone appointments because they felt it better to deal face to face. Now they've seen how it benefits THEM, i.e. working from home etc., they've suddenly decided it's a good idea after all!

Not all GPs have set it up for requesting appointments, etc. Ours hasn't. All we can do is order prescriptions. Appointments can only be granted by the 8am fiasco. They don't open the doors at reception until 9am so you can't even go in and ask for an appointment in person with the receptionist as by 9am, all appointments have gone and you get abruptly told to "phone at 8am tomorrow" instead.

My belief is that it's all part of a bigger push for digital dependency, the Government and deputising organisations desperately want us all to have a smart mobile phone. I could go on further but perhaps that's for another thread.

It works out quite well for the GPs, as you say less time at work, easier to delay/avoid appointments, such as at my practice which no longer makes appointments on the reception desk (face to face). Many GPs have gone part time since the "coronavirus pandemic" and they seem to be finding it cushy. It's not for the greater good though and certainly not in the interest of patients.

I do wish that people working in healthcare would undergo morality assessments, to see if they generally want to help people to feel better. However, given who is pulling the strings at the top, and the larger agenda that is pulling those strings, I doubt much attention would be taken in to vetting a person's interest in working in healthcare. That includes receptionists too, as this thread has shown they seem to enjoy gatekeeping all too well.

Most professionals I know (many doctors and one dentist) went part time in 2022 as a result of income tax thresholds not rising.
We should not be paying 40% tax on a “mediocre” wage but rather than top1/2/3% in my opinion.
Therefore doctors are choosing to work part time rather than work full time but only be bringing home 60% of their wage for all the extra hours.
40% tax bracket was designed for Consultants, tech bosses, rich dudes….
Now we have got to a place where little by little we are 40% taxing GPs, Deputy Head Teachers, etc- who whilst are earning a healthy amount- are still checking the bills are all paid at the end of the month.

And and the full time doctors and dentists who reduced their hours to avoid the 62% marginal tax rate on their earnings over £100k, combined with loss of free childcare at the same threshold AND the pension punitive tax on top of all that.

Unfortunately, politicians and far too many lefties don't understand human behaviour and are still in denial as to the real reasons why so many doctors and dentists now work part time hours! And that's before we get to the massive reduction in locums who previously worked through their own personal service companies and were massively hit by the IR35 rules making them pay BOTH employee and employer NIC on their hourly rate, which took their total taxes to even higher than the 62% faced by employees.

But like I say, far too many in denial about the negative consequences of high taxes.

I had a lovely Receptionist at my GP - sadly she left and the others are OK but you have to be assertive to get what you want.

@Badbadbunny that’s a really
interesting point that I’d never thought of before

Income tax isn't the way forward, it has nothing to do with being left leaning- if you earn 150k or even twice that, you spend most of it and it stays bolstering the economy.
On the other hand say you have hundreds of thousands in passive income from profits and investments- most of that money has to go to buy more assets.
This then contributes to the divide between rich and poor putting the cost of assets up and out of the reach of everyone but the wealthiest.
The only logical answer is to tax wealth not work- then we won't lose important skills to to tax avoidance, you can't change human nature-why pretend you can.

Unfortunately, deluded lefties think that we CAN change human behaviour and even some regular posters on here believe that most public sector workers are doing it for the good of society and not for their better than average working conditions, maternity/sick pay, gold plated pensions, etc. The FACT that doctors are reducing their working hours, moving abroad, etc., just passes them by and they can't/won't accept they're motivated by finances rather than altruism. They can never explain why, say, a doctor would spend a decade studying and earning low wages if they got the same wages as a cleaner - they seem to genuinely think that such people would still do it for the good of the country. Deluded!