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.

Receptionists have caused me no end of issues when triaging. I understand why they do and I am polite but it pisses me off on people on threads like these when people defend the interrogation without considering the impact on people with complex health problems. There needs to be a pathway for chronically ill, complex people like me without being fobbed off. What may be a cough for a healthy person may be pneumonia and a hospital admission for me, so telling me to see my pharmacist for lemsip fucks me off. I know when I have the sniffles and I know when I'm in the early stages of getting ill and need to be seen.

I agree Doggity. You cannot just look at symptoms but need to look at the patient as a whole. Ds has complex needs and is non verbal so we have had to become experts at knowing when there is a problem. I would be annoyed at a receptionist acting like they knew better than us when even the doctors know take our word for it, when there is something serious going on.

Receptionists ask because a patient may want to see a doctor, but perhaps if it's something the nurses do (bloods, dressings, smears, weight advice, smoking cessation etc - whatever nurses do then the receptionist can suggest it's not a doctor that's needing to be seen - basic triage which doesn't need a clinical degree

When DD was a few weeks old I ran out of medication, which I know is my fault and I was really apologetic but I had just moved doctors surgery and had a new baby - the receptionist literally told me it was my own fault, that I couldn't see the doctor and if have to make a non emergency appointment for the next week. I said it was important that I had my medication as I might have a seizure, she again repeated that it wasn't an emergency...I got mad at that point and told her that people die from seizures and that I had a young baby so unless she was a doctor she couldn't make that call and I was going to complain, suffice to say I got an appointment.

Doggity when I was call handling we were clearly and absolutely told never to give any medical advice or decide who could speak to a GP. Our options were to dial 999, put the call through as urgent (call back from a GP within 20 mins) or routine (call back from a GP within an hour). This was OOH so was more likely to be urgent than an in-hours call. It was then up to the GP/ paramedics what course of treatment was needed. So there's no way someone without clinical training would have said "take a lemsip" under that system.

Since we were OOH and patients weren't always registered with us, regular surgeries could send us notes on patients with complex needs. So in your case whatever was going on, you and/ or your GP could put in a request that whatever you called for, you'd be put through as urgent at the very least.

Receptionists get a hard time of it and some of them do overstep the mark. But I think as imperfect as the current system is, unless people want to pay a huge amount to have clinicians answer phones and take demographics, it is a good system. It needs improving in places and clearly some people need more training but I wouldn't chuck the baby out with the bathwater and lose it entirely.