AIBU to be annoyed at doctors receptionist?

[ihatetheoneshow]

NC because this may out me (I've whinged a lot about this to various friends today)

Called doctors surgery this morning to get an appointment for 6 month old. Obviously wanted one for today so was calling between 8 and 9 am.

Eventually, after an hour on hold (it's a busy surgery so not overly bothered about that), receptionist answers asking how she can help. Conversation went like this:

R: how can I help?
Me: id like an appointment for today please.
R: we only have emergency appts. Is it really an emergency?
Me: yes it's for my 6 month old.
R: okay. (Takes DDs name) and what is wrong with her?

This is where I got annoyed, as that's the reason I'm seeing a doctor. I shouldn't have to list symptoms to the receptionist. She asked with such a patronising tone that I almost snapped back at her that is was the doctors business not hers. However, that is unreasonable so I answered politely whilst seething quietly.

I probably ABU, is it standard practice now for receptionists to ask why you are seeing a doctor? Does it help them decide if it is an emergency? I just don't get why she needed to know.

Medical receptionists are first line and usually after a few months on the job have rudimentary triage skills, it's mostly common sense and people reading- there are some people that will wait quietly for an appoimtment to get their arm sewn back on, and others who will cause an almighty fuss over a minor cut.

A&e receptionists ask the issue as routine, why not the same venom for them?

I think it's a good system really, I have called for my dd when she was just over 1 for a cough after a cold that hadn't gone away for about 3 weeks. She asked what it was for, I told her and she said the doctor would call me back. Ours is a big surgery and there are a few doctors out the back doing callbacks and I was called back about an hour later (whilst in the park with dd!) and explained that whilst I wasn't particularly concerned about the cough itself, should I do anything/ give anything etc? Doctor said no, keep an eye and call again and get seen if it lasts another 2 weeks or gets worse. I was happy, didn't waste their or my time with an appointment, receptionist did her job.
If I'd said high temp, rash, etc I would have either had a doc call back straight away or be called in for dd to be seen. Which wouldn't have been a waste of an appointment.

It's standard practice. Often the emergency slots and short and close together. Doctor can have notes up and get straight into it. She probably meant no harm to you but they have to weed out the "worried well".

As a GP it's incredibly helpful actually to know roughly what I'm dealing with in advance. A sore throat / water infection can be dealt with in 10 mins. If a patient needs a pelvic exam / is feeling suicidal then it's a bit longer, but knowing in advance means I can book a double appointment or try and free up time by doing phone consultants at the end etc. Also some things would mean I'd want to do a blood test, so I can gather the stuff together first. It just streamlines the surgery so I can run to time, as running late is annoying for everyone.

Making up something is really unhelpful. The receptionists aren't being nosey they're doing their job, and will ask 60 odd people per day so aren't likely to remember what you had in particular 5 minutes later.

'You could be the best bloody Receptionist in the world but you still haven't been through med school have you?

Therefore you are not qualified to decide.

Last thing you need is the Spanish Inquisition from a receptionist when you have a sick baby'

In an ideal world that is spot on. Unfortunately there are parents who need someone else to ascertain whether their child needs emergency treatment or not. Because they are not capable of distinguishing the difference between cradle cap and meningitis!

YABU. I ask my receptionists to get a brief summary from the patients in cases like this so they can be prioritised - e.g. So a child with difficulty breathing can be dealt with before one with a sore thumb. And yes, people do ask for emergency appointments for things like sore thumbs, hence the need for information!

I have no problem with being triaged by a receptionist. What I do have a problem with is the issue of confidentiality. When I went into my doctor's today she said "Oooh we've had you all in today." I knew she meant my husband as he'd been in for an appt but, WTF? What if he'd not wanted me to know? I can't be sure I can trust her really, so I certainly won't be telling her my medical woes.

Plus, sometimes I've seen my doctor after months of depression. It takes me such courage to walk into the room and sit down and actually tell him what's wrong. I have to write it down in order to spit it out. There's no way I could tell a receptionist that stuff. I don't think I could even at the word depression to her.

Also all those women who book doctors appointments when they find out they are pregnant for 'confirmation'. The doctor has the same pissing tests.

I saw about 3 of those on GPs Behind Closed Doors.

The Dr just looked at them and said if you've missed a period and had positive test then you're pregnant. We have the same tests......

Does anybody really think GP's receptionists simply take it upon themselves to triage patients, deciding on personal opinion whether a patient really needs an appointment or not ? of course they don't as it would be more than their jobs worth !! There will be strict protocols to follow and I'm sure even the most power hungry receptionist is quite aware of the consequences for both patients and themselves if they don't follow these polices exactly.

What do you think would happen if receptionists didn't ask these questions or indeed everyone refused to answer ?
GP's do not have unlimited appointment slots available ,they get booked up quickly meaning that the receptionist is probably doing you a favour by trying to fit you in if necessary.

You don't need to have been to med school to work out that a lethargic baby needs to see a doctor as a priority but Mrs Smiths painful bunion can wait until the next available routine slot (although I'm sure there are plenty of 'mrs smiths' who may think otherwise)

I had a serious illness last year but ended up with 2 nurse appointments because the receptionists weren't qualified to assess me. At the third appointment when I saw a doctor I was properly diagnosed but this all took a few weeks

Presumably you saw the nurses though, and they do have clinical training so perhaps they should have pushed you towards a GP? Sometimes this isn't a problem with receptionists but with the fact that illnesses are processes which develop and that actually diagnosis is difficult for fully trained clinicians. Not saying that's the case with you but often diagnosis is extremely difficult because symptoms aren't specific to one condition.

For those arguing that receptionists can't make decisions, what do you think you do when you decide to call your GP, or go to A&E or dial 999? The difference is that a receptionist will be doing this day in, day out, across a variety of patients. So long as they're aware of their own limitations and have appropriate on going training, they're pretty good at their job.

You don't need to have been to med school to work out that a lethargic baby needs to see a doctor as a priority but Mrs Smiths painful bunion can wait until the next available routine slot (although I'm sure there are plenty of 'mrs smiths' who may think otherwise)

Yes - unfortunately there are plenty

But just like the OP doesn't know if it is an emergency. hence wanting to see a doctor neither does the Receptionist know if it is an emergency, or as people said above someone could just lie and therefore the whole conversation is moot.

But it could be 'my baby has a bit of cradle cap' that's not an emergency.

'My baby has a rash' they will see them to make sure it's nothing serious.

If you tell our doctor that it's an emergency and then turn up and it's not, you get a warning. Then eventually struck off.

So it's not moot.

They all writing on pregnancy sites about getting doctors confirmation that they are pregnant after pissing on a million sticks

I rung the doctors and said I'm not sure what the procedure is but I'm pregnant and was wondering what to do next, they gave me the number for the midwife to book directly.

I could have book an appt and told her to mind her own.

In every other country in the world I have ever lived including using the health service in third world countries, I have never encountered a situation where I had to be assessed by a secretary or a nurse (and in the rest of the world nurses have a 5 year training) if you need or WANT to see a doctor you can. It's only the US where it's an insurance ball ache. And it's only the UK where people get ill and die due to arrogant neglect. It's horrific.

Bostin the receptionist may have initially made the appt with a nurse rather than a GP but the nurse could then have forwarded you to the GP if it was outside her remit. I have had that before when a simple problem (mine, not saying yours was at all!) needed further investigation based on the information I gave her, if the nurse/s you saw didn't do that I'd think they were at fault rather than the receptionist?

I'm surprised at all the emergency appointment rants.

At the last two practices I've been two over 8 years if I call for an appointment and there's non in the next few weeks. They ask what is for and majority of the time will say call in the morning. I'm not sure if I'm lucky and it's just how those practices do things (in different areas 40 miles apart so not a local thing) and both are large practices. I think if it's an emergency emergency they have doctors sort of on call rather in addition to those booking emergency slots. A bit like how they have one that does telephone appointments for that day.

Re the mental health bit. When I was in the depths of depression and agoraphobia I had a doctors appointment, booked a month before with my usual doctor who knows my situation, checked in on the machine. I hadn't been seen an hour later (not unheard of there, 40 min wait was pretty regular) so I asked at reception and they said it had been cancelled. I started crying (very un me but it took a lot to go there that day) and receptionist asked me, in mean girl tones "why are you crying?" But then I think she realised her voice and that I was having a panic attack/meltdown and a few mins later another doctor appeared and saw me.

Even though she had been a bit of a cow she got me seen pronto rather than just sending me away which others would have done

I would imagine it is just to give the dr a quick preview of what's coming their way before you walk in the door, rather than the receptionist making decisions on whether you get an appointment or not? The vets receptionist always asks what the problem is, and getting an appointment isn't an issue there!

I think it's a good system. You get a few jobsworths but you get them in every line of work. Our surgery has switched from a walk-in clinic every morning to emergency appointments and it works so much better. No dragging yourself to stand outside the doctors at quarter to 8 when you're poorly, just calling up.

The receptionists do a great job. I've had to call a few times over the last couple of months, and there have been cases where they've arranged for a doctor to call me back and they've given me advice, cases where they've gotten me an appointment immediately, cases where they've gotten me an appointment for after work and where they've said go to A&E.

I have a lot of respect for GP receptionists, especially the caring ones. I think they have a tough job. I'd love to be a fly on the wall for a week, I think it'd give a new appreciation of what they go through.

I didn't know receptionists received medical training. Is this a new thing?

As a GP it's incredibly helpful actually to know roughly what I'm dealing with in advance. A sore throat / water infection can be dealt with in 10 mins. If a patient needs a pelvic exam / is feeling suicidal then it's a bit longer, but knowing in advance means I can book a double appointment or try and free up time by doing phone consultants at the end etc. Also some things would mean I'd want to do a blood test, so I can gather the stuff together first. It just streamlines the surgery so I can run to time, as running late is annoying for everyone

This is exactly why receptionists ask. Also it means that if there's a suspicion of chicken pox the patient can be isolated from pregnant women or patients with suppressed immunity. It's not to be pissy, it's to help people.

If I have something wrong I want to see someone ASAP who can help, I don't care if it is the chief doctor who has been there since 1980 or the HCA. So if the receptionist identifies the nurse on duty can give me antibiotics for my cystitis rather than waiting a week for chief doctor then great.

I don't see the issue. Just because you think you need to jump the queue and see the top dog doesn't mean you do.

unimagmative whereas when I was pregnant with DD, I tried to book the midwife, they said I had to see the GP first. Went to see the GP, he said 'so, you're pregnant then?' 'Yes, I peed on a stick' 'OK, here's the midwife's number'

Now that's a waste of time and resources! But it's the way some GP's surgeries work.

I think it is completely unreasonable for a receptionist to ask this. I always say 'it's private', whether it is or not. Receptionists are definitely not trained in triaging patients, and asking for a one line description of the problem would be no way to triage them anyway. The problem of patients wasting doctors' time is a wide reaching problem throughout the country that can only be done with good health promotion by the government and not up to GP receptionists to sort out. And the excuse that it helps doctors know what to focus on is nonsense as well - there's no way 'skin problem' is going to give a doctor any useful heads up.

I've been asked this before and never batted an eyelid, assuming that it was for triage purposes.

However, I did object to the receptionist I saw when I was pregnant with DS. I'd gone to the pharmacy to ask for a thrush treatment, having been feeling like I'd sat on a cactus all day. The pharmacy couldn't give me anything as I was pregnant. So off I toddled to the doctors & said to the receptionist that I had thrush, the pharmacy wouldn't give me anything so I needed to talk to a doctor. At this stage I was the only one in the surgery, but was shortly joined by two other patients. Who were there to hear when the receptionist asked me 'what makes you think you have thrush?' Was very taken aback, and a bit unwilling to announce that I had an itchy muff in front of other patients. Can't remember what I told her actually!

Rrross 1ges - surely no patient tells the receptionist they need a pelvic exam? Would having to tell the receptionist they are suicidal not put them off seeing the doctor at all? If I was suicidal I certainly wouldn't want to tell anyone apart from the doctor/nurse I trusted.