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.

If there is going to be a triage system, there needs to be an awareness of the patient as a whole and that people don't fit into neat boxes. This can be done by it being at the top of patients notes and receptionists being willing to check this.

Same day are urgent. If it was an emergency I would be going to a and e.

It's the whole attitude though. The huffs and the sighs and making you feel as if you are completely out of order for needing an appointment. Then to have your time wasted with this rubbish too, it's not necessary. Leave it up to the doctors to assess patients, not receptionists.

I dread ringing the doctors. I don't need the battle when I have ds attacking me because he is in pain.

OP It is absolutely standard practice and it really makes a difference. your opinion of emergency may or may not be correct- you are and intelligent MN user and so will tell me of course you know if it's an emergency but many people are not correct and giving as much info as possible will really help me as the GP sort priorities.

There are many things that can be dealt with by phone too or by seeing a different team member eg practice nurse re terrible bleeding nappy rash or our new clinical pharmacist about your eczema or weeping eye.

Other " emergencies" are not....
Sick notes (or I didn't go to probation/community service and now you can tell them I was too ill, and it was 2 weeks ago by the way), ran out of tablets (one day I'll snap and say " can't you count, you can see how many you have left every day" ), the physio says I need a referral about my knee (leave the message and I'll do it I don't need to see you really I don't I've already examined that knee several times).

And somewhere in that there will be -as yesterday " baby has a spot and doesn't seem normal" ..... Dear reader that baby presented yesterday in a triage list like the above - it had a rash suggesting sepsis when I told it to come straight up and we 999d from surgery- don't yet know the outcome ..... But we also had a foul rant from a mum of a toddler who waited over an hour with nothing much as a result.

Please don't get cross . Triage is vital, it saves lives and allows you to get appropriate service.

Oh and my pet rant don't just say " personal" because you think you will be bumped up the queue. If you have thrush or want the morning after pill say so as they are so easily done. No one bats an eyelid. I'm afraid you'll get left till the end as it's often either because you've not bothered to see us about your tablets and we've started getting annoyed and reducing the amount because it's getting unsafe, or you want to rant about the appointments for 10 mins. I don't really have the time/headspace for that till the end.

Right. Get to work.

so was it sniffles OP ?

thoughts yes, yes it was.

It absolutely isn't standard practice - it's standard in some and not in others. The OP explained in an earlier post that her practice (like mine) offers same day appointments - they are not emergency appointments for emergencies. As honking says, A&E are for emergencies (the clue is in the name..) where you can be properly triage by qualified staff.

I think what this thread shows is the variety of approaches taken by practices across the UK.

I have no problem with receptionists asking if it means I get to see a doctor with a specialism or given advice. That's fine and it's what a receptionist should do.
I'm not fine with, like flanjabelle says, the attitude that some receptionists have towards giving out same day appointments. I'll repeat myself again for those posters who cba to read PPs: I've never had a problem getting a same day appt. before, I've never been asked about symptoms before, I was NOT rude to the receptionist though felt like it as she was rude and patronising towards me. Assuming like most of you that I was being a neurotic ftm, when in actual fact, there were a couple of things that may or may not have been serious but needed a Drs opinion.

Not sure why I'm bothering to justify to keyboard warriors who are determined to think they know all about me from the 3/4 posts I've made on this thread.

Robluvshelen, please consider the fact that actually the person may not be able to count , I had this recently with someone , only nearly too late did I discover that they couldn't count or read for that matter 🙁

I do think one of the problems is that there is no middle ground , you are either an emergency or you can wait a month.There are many times when I might not be dying and definately don't need to see some one that day but if I don't see someone in a couple of days it could become an emergency .

It is not a receptionists job to triage patients. If surgeries want that, then they need a nurse answering the phone.

And I'd say that if a child is only 6 months old, you give them an appointment, babies can go downhill very quickly and they can't tell you how they feel.

Ihate - that's how MN works It won't matter how many times you repeat yourself, you were rude to the receptionist, she is qualified to triage, you are a neurotic ftm, your child obviously just had the sniffles or a verruca, there is no such thing as same day appointments only emergency ones, and it's standard practice across the UK (and the ones where the receptionists don't ask are truly awful, substandard places that should be closed down actually)

SirChenjin Ha it's stupid, I've been round here long enough to know that. Can't help myself responding though

her child did just have the sniffles though...

It's not fair though. The receptionist is NOT qualified to triage. In many places though if she wants to keep her job she will.

Also booking an 'emergency' appointment and it isn't emergency? You can expect to have a strip taken off you as well.

Compassion was not something that I could afford as a medical receptionist. It was shit.

You have the doctors on one side and the patients on the other both ready and willing to throw YOU under the bus if they don't get what they want.

God I hated that job, it opened my eyes to what people are really like at both ends of the power spectrum.

At our surgery the practice nurse can deal with some complaints so the receptionist can book pts in to see them if needed.

Some people dont realise you can order prescriptions without seeing the GP. You may need the prescription today (eg laxatives that baby has had before for same problem) so would need an appt today but could just request the prescription (happens at least once a week)

Or the baby might be out of breath /bad colour and then the receptionist needs to know not to book you in at 11:30am but to ask you to come straight in/call ambulance or get the Dr to stop what they are doing and speak to you. Does happen.

I am very surprised you havent been asked what the appointemnt was for previously. It is standard in most places. Receptionists in most practices print off prescriptions/ some type letters/ file notes and hospital letters so they are familiar with medical problems and obviously trained/ expected to keep notes and information confidential.

They do a hard job.

YABU

YABU. I sometimes feel a bit awkward (once I did say I'd rather discuss it with the doctor) but they have always fitted in DD or myself when it was urgent.

They need to ask because some people have an odd definition of urgent. I know a woman who is constantly posting on Facebook about her various ailments and doctors / hospital trips etc, the vast majority of which were all unnecessary (think going in for a cold etc). She recently posted on our local Facebook group complaining because she had a dodgy knee and they wouldn't give her an appointment until next week (about four days away), and got an earful from a lot of people. I was unimpressed as the surgery are great and fitted baby DD in once when she was poorly and I was worried, and fitted me in last minute when I was pregnant and developed a UTI. They need to be able to prioritise and unfortunately some people don't understand that their medical issue may not be serious.

Perhaps the way they do things has changed.
Mine have just started doing phone triage, the receptionist takes a brief description of the problem sometimes offers a nurse appointment then the GP calls back and does triage.
I was a it baffled at first but it's actually a better system I've been able to just get a prescription sent to the chemist without having to go to the surgery.

Okay thoughts, I'll come clean. It wasn't sniffles. It was something much worse...she sneezed . If that's not a reason for an urgent appointment, what is??!

/sarcasm

Dr's receptionists are like any other profession, there are good ones, brilliant ones and appalling ones who give the rest a bad reputation.

Op and flangabelle. Whether you did actually need an emergency appt or not isn't really the point. It surely isn't that difficult to grasp the fact that many many people (not saying yourselves), say it's an emergency when it's not. (My dh is a dentist and the amount of people who claim emergency to speed up their teeth whitening being done is utterly disgraceful). That is putting an unacceptable strain on the nhs.
They, rather obviously, need to try and stamp down on this. Why is it so hard to cooperate?

Whilst you'll obviously never see it, YABU OP - for all the reasons that lots of other posters have already stated

YANBU. It may be standard practice but it shouldn't be.

Not really the receptionist's fault - the problem is that GPs are getting their receptionists to do the triage. I believe there have been trials in some practices where the GP will do an initial triage over the phone, which makes more sense. Obviously it's to stop people abusing the system but I agree that receptionists are not qualified to do triage and that patients should not be expected to discuss their medical problems with someone who isn't a health professional.