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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To think it's not too much to ask a secretary to send a fax?

50 replies

sevenkeystomysoul · 27/01/2011 17:00

Four hours waiting for DD's blood test today because some lazy-arsed secretary at a famous London childrens' hospital couldn't be bothered to fax through some blood forms to our local pediatric ward. I asked her to do it three days ago, we turn up, no forms. I call her. She says she'll 'get someone' to do it (no apology for not doing it previously). We wait. No forms. I call again. She says she gave it to a registrar to do and they haven't done it. I say 'sorry love, I thought it was a registrar's job to look after sick children and your job to send faxes' (oh, ok, I thought that, I didn't actually say it). We wait. No forms. I call her. She's gone to lunch. We wait, with DD asking every few minutes if it's going to hurt. Three and a half hours later I call her and say 'look, do you mind faxing the forms yourself because whoever you've been asking to do it clearly isn't going to' (I really do say it this time). Three days, four hours and one very stressed little girl later, the forms are faxed. AIBU to want to complain to DD's consultant about this?

OP posts:
mutznutz · 27/01/2011 17:03

Do you really have to ask? No of course you're not being unreasonable...that stinks!

kaj32 · 27/01/2011 17:05

YANBU. I'm a secretary and it is part of the job. It takes a minute to do and it's just lazy not too imho

Honeybee79 · 27/01/2011 17:07

Lazy, lazy, lazy. And rude. YANBU

Quenelle · 27/01/2011 17:15

Yep lazy. And why is it always doctors' secretaries? We switched GP surgery because, among other things, the secretary was like this all the time.

Hope the wait didn't make things too bad for your daughter.

nipplesofthenorth · 27/01/2011 17:21

If it's the hospital I think you mean then complain to the Consultant who the secretary is under. I did and there is now a super efficient new one.

sevenkeystomysoul · 27/01/2011 17:38

Thanks for your replies. Not sure exactly how to go about complaining. I don't want to call DD's consultant because I'd feel bad about taking up her time on the phone when she has more important things to deal with, but equally, I don't really want to wait until DD's next clinic appointment. Would an email direct to DD's consultant be appropriate? (that's if I can actually get the consultant's email address).

OP posts:
nipplesofthenorth · 27/01/2011 21:17

A email would be good but I wouldn't worry about speaking to your DD's consultant over the phone either. Their secretary's incompetence had an effect on your daughter's care/happiness and this is important to the Consultant.

IMO Registrars are a bit hit and miss too - either trying very hard to please or (sadly) very self-important and above actual day to day stuff.

Edinburghlass · 27/01/2011 21:48

Definitely worth an email to the consultant. No need to be rude, just say it caused you all some additional unnecessary stress and could easily have been avoided

porcamiseria · 27/01/2011 21:50

COMPLAIN.please. thats really really shit

ratspeaker · 27/01/2011 22:02

Your poor DD
Is there no way your local paediatric ward could keep some forms on hand?

And why were you having to chase up the forms surely a member of the hospital staff where you were should have been doing that

I'd compalin about the lack of communication between one dept and another

unfitmother · 27/01/2011 22:11

YANBU, complain, either direct to consultant or via PALS.

Rhinestone · 27/01/2011 22:30

Complain, definitely. Healthcare isn't just about what happens betwixt patient and doctor - it's about the whole experience / environment and this woman caused you and your daughter unnecessary worry and stress.

Not to mention wasting the time of other medical professionals.

cumfy · 27/01/2011 22:47

Why wasn't the ward you were at organising all this ?
Wasn't it their responsibility ?

Sounds pretty odd.

FabbyChic · 27/01/2011 22:49

It is not odd if the OP's daughter was going private.

hogsback · 27/01/2011 22:51

Secretary??
Fax??????
What decade does this hospital exist in?

theredhen · 27/01/2011 22:57

YANBU. I'd complain.

cumfy · 28/01/2011 11:06

I think the ward you were on acted very poorly as well.

Were they just going to leave you for hours and send you away if no "forms" came through ?

I can't see why they didn't just take the bloods and label them up later.

cumfy · 28/01/2011 11:21

The forms might well have been faxed 3 days prior and the local ward lost them.

audi4prez · 28/01/2011 11:40

Well most people think you should complain but this is how I envision it working out, having worked in similar environment( and your story sounds oh so polite that I?m shocked; since most people calling after a four hour wait are dicks but I digress)

Ok so this is going back to my time working in a vet office but?
Let?s see bitchy owner calls harried secretary about xyz (without any concept that MAYBE there are more important things going on then her precious forms/time spent waiting)..where does the xyz form go? Bottom of the fucking pile is where. Calls again?you are swamped with more important stuff than someone overanxious worrywarts neuroses and make nice nice ( cover your butt) noises on the phone, hang up swear( usually internally since the office is still swamped) and either pass it to someone( equally swamped and therefore bottom of their pile) or leave it in your queue to get to when you get to.

Complaint comes in 1-2 weeks later from outraged( read not that coherent) owner. Boss(vet) has no fucking clue how front office is run. After a through show of documented calls( usually rude/abrasive which most staff will remember/elaborate/document depending on the owner?s level of annoyance, your word against theirs in this really) and showing of how info is handled owner/vet generally retreat, and tells owner sorry but it was done as fast as possible.

This is in a vet clinic( a successful one I might add since these type of annoying clients are usually the first to cry poverty when it comes to bill time) where PROFIT is the main goal. I can only imagine that in a human clinic where payment of services is guaranteed(by government) it?s only exacerbated. But go ahead and annoy the secretary and act like a dick on the phone.
I?m SURE your complaints will be noted and you will never experience delays again( sarcasm)

cumfy · 28/01/2011 11:48

So it was likely OP's fault then Audi ? Grin

Dartsonwednesdays · 28/01/2011 12:56

Audi, if that's the way your office works, then I'm not suprised you're getting rude calls.

Any of my staff working in that haphazard way would be firmly hauled over the coals. If I need to I can lay my hand on any piece of paper I require and that does not take much effort to organise.

audi4prez · 28/01/2011 13:24

worked. past tense, I no longer work in that office and haven't for some time. And nope, rude calls were actually fairly unusual. But we could generally spot a bitchy/unreasonable owner at a mile. Like I said the clinic is very successful( even now with the same office manager) I was not a secretary, but a tech, and I knew all the gossip and ins and outs of the office.

Darts, that may be true in your office but our old owner had a much more pragmatic view.

Not saying the OP is wrong to complain just that it may very well be a waste of time and a case of she said/ he said. Though I doubt she was as polite on the phone as she claims/believes, simply based on observation of human nature. If people get hysterical over pet's medical records, I can only assume that children are 100x worse. Though she claims not to have 'said' certain things I'm positive that her tone bled through.

cumfy · 28/01/2011 16:41

So what would you have done Audi ?

nipplesofthenorth · 28/01/2011 18:30

If a secretary is too incompetent to understand the importance of sending blood forms promptly she shouldn't be working in a clinical environment. Her actions are harmful for the child as waiting for a blood test you know will hurt is very stressful, stressful for the parent, inconvenient for the clinical staff waiting to do the test. It is not unreasonable to expect this done. At the hospital in question the child comes first - no question. No comparison with a vets either. Not going to rant anymore - would clearly make me a dick. Angry

2rebecca · 28/01/2011 18:36

Why did the hospital not have it's own supply of blood forms? I don't get this post. If it was a blood result that was wanted surely a member of staff (usually junior doc) could have rang the results dept of the relevent hospital and got the results over the phone. Our local hospital results are all linked via computer anyway.
Agree with hogsback here.