Do GP's receptionists have ti be so bastard rude?

[OHforDUCKScake]

Ive just had some blood results for my 22 month old that was like a punch in the fucking stomach so I may well be projecting my rage on the bitch that called me.

So, she calls, is this Ducks Mum?

Yes.

We have his blood results can you pick them up?

I say yes but I have a broken so I wont be able to for a few days, can she just give me the numbers now. (Im poised with a pen)

She literally sighs a big sigh, tuts. She fucking TUTS at me, says in a huffy teenage voice "we're really busy."

I say no problem and hang up.

I call their sister surgery and ask the receptionist there if she has time to read some blood results for my son, she does it takes 20-30 seconds.

Then mrsh Huffy Puffy calls me back again, she said I didnt let her finish. i said no, she made herself quite clear and I got the results from the other surgery so its no problem now. She starts tutting and huffing and puffing again, "oh well then, ."

I told her that she was incredibly rude on the phone and hung up.

Dont they fucking know some of these results are the difference between life and death? I quality of life?

Fcking bitch.

[anothershittynickname]

I have had my fair share of run-in's with 'bloody receptionists' and would happily generalise that they are rude and obnoxious IF we can also flip it to include that generally, the 'general population' are rude and obnoxious too!!

It's horses for courses, they shouldn't be rude, many are. The general public shouldn't be rude, many are!!

OP - I hope your little fella is ok xx

[ToothGah]

Hope your little one gets better soon OP.

My mum is a receptionist at a surgery and puts up with so much shit (a patient threatened to kill her a while back because they missed an appointment - and this wasn't even one of the drug addicts) but she's still lovely to everyone and gets lots of little presents from people thanking her for fitting them in, generally being nice and going above and beyond to help them.

So they're not all bastard rude :)

But getting a nasty receptionist when you're stressed and worried about your health or that of a loved one is horrible. I called the receptionists at my old surgery rottweilers with lipstick, they were all vile and made me feel like I was an inconvenience when I asked for simple and needed repeat prescriptions.

Luckily the ones now I've moved surgery are all lovely, in fact the main one is a bloke which I've not come across before.

[Hopasholic]

There's one at ours who is such a rude cowbag! When I phone and say 'Hello I'd like to make an appointment please' she says......... Nothing
There's no acknowledgement that she's heard me, just silence. What's up with 'one moment please'. It's so rude!
Last time I said 'can you hear me?
She got really stroppy

[ToothGah]

And to those who mention receptionists asking what the problem is when someone rings for an emergency appointment - they are TOLD to do this by the doctors/practice manager.

I know a lot of them are not comfortable doing this. My DM will say "If you're comfortable with giving me an idea of the problem, that would be helpful, but if you don't want to discuss it with me that's fine" because she knows people sometimes don't want to say.

They are told to ask, they are not being nosey - it puts them in a difficult position sometimes as they don't necessarily feel that they should be asking but they have to.

[Namehelpplease]

Yes it's the law.

[Hattie23]

Every time i read threads like this i want to get everyone who has had a bad experience to come and register at my GP in SE London. All the receptionists there are so lovely and i feel so lucky.

That doesn't help op i know. But i do hope Ducking gets well soon.

[musicposy]

It's annoying, though, this triaging, because they aren't really qualified to decide what is or isn't an emergency and so they end up making mistakes. Try explaining something a bit out of the ordinary to them and they have a script "we can't see you for x" or "you have to see a nurse for y" even though as a patient, you may have already been told differently by the GP previously. DD1 has a heart condition and severe multiple allergies which complicate seemingly simple things, but they don't take that into account; they're not trained to be able to. So you end up running all round the houses.

Whilst there is no excuse for patients to be rude, I think the system is so frustrating and difficult to get past, I can see why people get to the end of their tether. Maybe vets receptionists are nicer because if you want an appointment, even in the next hour, you can get one - whereas to get one in the same month is a struggle at the docs and so people end up getting cross and frustrated.

[Namehelpplease]

Oh and this is how the convo with my GP's receptionists usually goes:

Me: "Hi do you have any appointments left for today?"

One of them: "No. They all went at 8am." (Said in very 'you stupid idiot' tone despite it being 8.20am)

Me: "Anything? Anything at all? It's for my son. He's very poorly."

One of them: "We have one at 4.55pm with a nurse practitioner."

Me: "I'd rather one with a doctor please. Is there any way we could drop by at the end of surgery?"

[Humphy tutting. Tapping.]

One of them: "We have one at 2pm - is that okay?".

WTF?!?! This happens EVERY time. The first line response is clearly to deny anyone an appointment with a doctor. Why? Why! What if you don't know about this weird protocol?

[elastamum]

Triage through untrained non medical staff is a dangerous game. I wonder how many patients needlessly die each year because they get dismissed or refused appointments by un qualified practice staff

[Sparklingbrook]

We have an automated 24/7 appointment line. Lots of button pressing but you don't speak to anyone. It's very good.

[MySpecialistSubjectIsMN]

Hope your DS is ok OP.

It's just their frustration at being badly spoken to by Dr's so they take it out on the general public, who can't answer back

Maybe they advertise for Rottweilers only

[musicposy]

Namehelpplease that is exactly the conversation at ours except the protocol is for me to say "well if she gets worse I will just have to go to A and E, I suppose", to which their response is, "I'll put her in for Dr Bloggs at 10.30."

Why?? Why do I have to go through this every time? The alternative is a non emergency appointment, which as I found out last year, takes 4 months to get.

[FiveGoMadInDorset]

She did tell you they were busy, you told us that.

The receptionists in our GPs are all great, one nurse in particular is shite.

[HoHoHoNoYouDont]

They started this Triage malarkey at my surgery last year. What a f**kin shambles. As for the receptionists they blow hot and cold. I can't blame them really looking at some of the people that come in and are rude to them for a start. A friend of mine who did that job was assaulted by a patient. She got very little support from her employer.

[Namehelpplease]

Music - good tactic!! Consider it stolen

[nailak]

When I was working in McDonald's I hade rude customers on a regular basis threatening to harm me, I was sixteen, we were still not allowed to be rude. I don't think that having difficult customers has anything to do with being rude yourself.

[HoHoHoNoYouDont]

I get what you mean but MacDonalds is sales and you get and keep your customers due to the service you provide. As someone said up thread, doctors don't have to entice customers in.

People going to the docs are ill or worried so I suppose you can give them some leeway. I reckon if your surrounded by it all day some of the attitude can rub off.

[CartedOff]

I'm really sorry you had to deal with that. I came out of an appointment weeping a while back after some awful news and the receptionist was so lovely, I can't imagine what it would have been like to have someone huffing at grumbling at me after being told bad news.

Even though I had a different experience to yours, I do understand what it's like to be in that vulnerable position. That's all.

[ToothGah]

Blame the drs surgery/practice manager/NHS for the triaging by receptionists - I'm sure nobody reporting chest pains is made to wait, it's meant to weed out the people with a sore toenail or runny nose.

[InLoveWithDavidTennant]

i have met nice ones, and not so nice ones!

my worst experience was last year. rang up to get my test results and i get "oh, you're not pregnant. yay! isnt that good news?" we've been ttc for 4 years next month. i was so upset. should have complained really but just wasnt in the right place. thinking about it even now i just want to scream bitch bitch bitch

more often than not though, i get rudeness... even though i am a very polite person. i always smile (even when i feel like death) and say please thank you etc!

there are nice ones out there though. i guess you get it in every proffession. i just want to tell them that politeness costs nothing

[DialMforMummy]

YANBU I almost changed surgery because of the receptionists in my previous one. I didn't, but then changed surgery anyway because I moved. The receptionists there are just as mis and rude except for one.

[starfield]

Never mind grumpy receptions, I think it could be due to god complexes because in my surgery they do TRIAGE. What is the world coming to? She asks me what my symptoms are then tells if I need antibiotics, in which case there's no point speaking to the doctor at all because she can just run them by him herself. So go the conversations:

Me(20 mins of trying to get through): I'd like to make an appointment to see the doctor, please.
Her: What are your symptoms? (only one symptom per appointment, so dear help us all is two things are related, because they's religiously unmentioned.
Me: ^My tongue and throat have become very rough. I also feel a lot more tired.'
Her: Do you have white patches on your gums?
Me: Hang on. Goes to mirror to see with impossible ordinary light bulb.
I suppose there could have been.I found it hard it tell. Suppose not, really.
Her: You see, you don't get an antibiotic if you dont have white patches on your gums. I can make a request to doctor but I don't think he'll say you need one.
Me (hmmm): Now that I think of it, I do have white patches.
Her: I'll put this through now...call again after 5.

[TheFallenNinja]

Yes. They do. It's in the job description.