Diagnosed by a Receptionist?

[Hummingbird46]

I have read a few of the comments regarding this issue of having to speak to the Doctor's receptionists about my systems in order to have an appointment. I feel very offended about this action especially as I am not one for seeing a doctor at the worst of times. And my last experienced I told the receptionist that I'd come out in a load of what looks like boils over most parts of my body and that I thought I might have measles I was told it was probably a allergy to something I'd eaten and I could attend a walk in clinic about 3 miles away. Hence I covered myself in calamine lotion and vaseline and stayed in only to find out that i had passed on Chicken pox to my grandchild. And now I have a more serious problem that I've been plagued with for years that ceased a year ago. and as come back which I needed to get a referral to see the specialist again. But I do not want to make that phone call that will lead me to either get rude or offended.

Graphista - no, running out of a script does not warrant a gp emergency apt. Yes reception will put you through, or there are direct dials. The script desk will sort out scripts, it's what they do. You just need to ask. If you go to a gp emergency apt because you've ran out of medication, instead of letting the script desk sort it for you, then expect the gp to be pissed off.

Not sure why you are labouring this point.

The issue with my dds disability was DEFINITELY a GP issue about which not only I but her consultant complained. Consultant said she should have been referred years earlier. However I mentioned it because it was an issue that meant I had to ask for double appointments several times and one receptionist saw fit - without knowing anything about why - told me to stop asking for them.

My responses to your comments were how in response to how they read.

In terms of dealing with rude/difficult/stressed patients, is assertiveness training not included for you? If not it should be. Being able to deal politely but assertively with them would likely make your job easier.

I disagree a list of meds to get urgent appointments is appropriate. It doesn't fit with assessing need fully in my opinion. I also disagree with repeat prescribing. Many patients don't report minor (to them) side effects that can indicate a serious problem and often forget how they were told to take etc.

However much and however good the quality of your training it will never match the years a dr (or even a nurse or pharmacist or other hcps) has put in.

ALSO because of my dds disability, issues that are normally signposted to other hcps have to be seen by a dr, I AND THE GP's, have repeatedly told the receptionists this and STILL I have to insist quite forcefully that it's a Drs appointment she needs.

And I've had receptionists say I'm not supposed to make appointments 'just for that' in reference to my mh issues. So the 'just for a chat' comment did really hit a nerve.

Not receptionists fault but we do have a big problem with lack of gp's. Lots of reasons for that, but it's been the case for years so if you go for a receptionist position you surely are aware of that and that people are irate about the lack of appointments etc.

I disagree a list of meds to get urgent appointments is appropriate. It doesn't fit with assessing need fully in my opinion. I also disagree with repeat prescribing. Many patients don't report minor (to them) side effects that can indicate a serious problem and often forget how they were told to take etc.

Failure to plan ahead does not automatically make it a medical emergency.

If I miss a couple of days worth of my anxiety medication, I'll feel grotty but I won't suffer any real ill effects. If I was a diabetic without insulin, then it might be a medical emergency but by your rules, I would get equal standing to that diabetic when it comes to an emergency appointment whereas I would rather let the diabetic have the appointment and I'll pick my repeat prescription up in a couple of days if they can't fit me in same day.

I have medications that I will be taking for life, for both MH issues and for physical conditions. Very few prescriptions will be given unconditional repeats, but many - for long term conditions - will be given long review periods once a patient has been assessed and the medication has been stabalised.

For my medications the review period is usually every 6 months unless there's a reason for it to be more frequent (eg dosage changes) There is no way in hell I want to be going to the doctors every 4 weeks (as they can only prescribe a months worth of my medication at time) just to say "No changes, no issues, no side effects" every time I need to renew my prescription, when I can instead just drop in the form a few days before I need it renewing and see them for a regular review every 6th prescription, at which point we do a detailed review of any symptoms/side effects/physical issues etc.

Graphista- obviously people need regular med reviews. They might need a blood test or a bp check before they see the gp. There are systems in place for this. This is totally separate to running out of medication.

Again, not sure how your DDs disability being undiagnosed for years is an issue with the reception team - surely her symptoms were mentioned in the 10/20 min appointments that you'd booked with the doctors over the years.

Of course we get customer care training to deal with situations with patients being rude.. but when it's happening tens of times a day, why should we have to expect to be spoken to aggressively or rudely just because we're in customer service, front desk? Does that make it ok?
I know I always go out of my way to be polite to everyone, customer care staff, doesn't give me the right to personally attack them because I'm miffed off with the company or the system.

Sorry my comment about 'just a chat' hit a nerve - obviously people have complex needs & need to see their GP regularly, but when you speak to the same Mr Smith every morning for a request for an emergency appointment, there are people who literally come in just for a chat. EVERYDAY if they could.

About prescriptions - obviously repeat prescriptions have pre arranged medication reviews, usually every 3/6 months or yearly of long term non changing medication. Totally different to running out of said repeat medication, which wouldn't warrant an emergency appointment as per our doctors guidelines.

Anyway, off to work I go - I'll keep it in mind today when I'm being told to F off and shouted at the comments on here. Sadly I can't just stop asking people what they need to be seen for as I wouldn't be doing my job properly.
If any of you need to see the GP today for an emergency please just keep that in mind, we only want to help.

I am going to say that I have seen more patients snapped at in waiting rooms (hospital and one particular GP) than vice versa. If patients are so rude then something must be acting as a catalyst.

I frequently hear people complaining about the receptionists at our GP. I don't think I have ever had a problem with them, but I rarely need to be seen as an emergency. I am going to pop down this morning to make an appointment, and it is easier to do it face to face, as I work shifts and so getting an appointment when I am not at work can be difficult. They usually manage to sort me out with very little difficulty.

But there is always a notice at reception and in the waiting rooms telling how many missed appointments there were the previous month - and it is always over 100. This is no doubt why they ask if it is urgent or not.

I'm currently stuck in a cycle at the moment with mine. I have had to change GP due to my previous brilliant one closing and returning to a not anywhere near as good one . I have asthma, albeit mild. The notes have been transfered fine but I cannot get them to issue me new inhalers. For the last 2 months I've been asking for them when I put in for repeats of other medication - they have me down as asthmatic and gave me the flu jab because of it - and they won't reissue a repeat, when I phone in they often just say they don't do repeats over the phone and won't deal with me further. Its very irritating as I don't want them to issue me a repeat over the phone, I want to go to the appropriate person to get the needed inhalers put onto my repeat list or just find out whether I need an asthma review first. I'm now currently using DFs inhalers to tide me over.

Roses re ear syringing yes dr will often want to see. You should use softener for 7-14 days such as olive oil drops before syringing better is suction (not normally done at GP). However this can be done through self care you can get oil and home syringe method from chemist so if spec savers saw wax your best bet is chemis for self care.
Syringing is not funded in most areas of England some practices are stopping doing it.

I've said this before but it happened last year.

My FIL made an appointment to see doctor online and received a call when he was at my home asking why he'd booked the emergency appointment, he was due to attend later that day.

What I saw - an overweight 60 year old man clutching his chest in pain.

What receptionist heard - I think I cracked my ribs a couple of years ago and it's been hurting again.

Receptionist booked him in with a nurse 4 days later.

48 hours after his doctors appointment was supposed to be he suffered a heart attack and has lost 30% function in his heart.

I was absolutely staggered hearing him talking to the Receptionist and how dismissive she was. I obviously tried to make him seek much more urgent medical attention but he'd been told he only needed a nurse and that was that as far as he was concerned.

Receptionist heard I've cracked my ribs because that's what he said surely? If he'd said I'm short of breath or have chest pain she wouldn't have heard I've cracked my ribs.

Not necessarily gin, depends on what he'd been asked. My dm called in with extreme stomach pain and was asked if it was like a stomach bug, dm said it would have been the worst she ever had suffered by miles so didn't think so, reception said it was just a bug and to be treated at home. She ended up in a&e 2hrs later where an ulcer perforated.

When dm complained she was told she had reported it as a stomach bug.

But that's the whole point Gin
People just CANNOT diagnosed themselves (and that's including GPs btw).
So when a receptionist is asking what they have, they might come with an explanation rather than with the symptoms like in the case of GloGirl. And those explanations might or might not be true/realistic/helpful. One part of the GP job is to actually sort out the difference between what the patient thinks is the issue and what it really is (which a receptionist just cannot do both due to training and time constrains).
In this case, the I think I've just my ribs again shouldn't have been taken into account. If a receptionist is to make a decision that can potentially be life or death situation, then they also need to be trained to actually ask again what are the symptoms. (I'm getting pain in my chest) and the decide according to said list.
This will mean that some people will be seen as urgency even if they aren't. But that's the whole point of having red flags! Because it's impossible to know both for the patient or for a receptionist whether it is something serious or not.
The onus shouldn't be on the patient to say the right words or on the receptionist to make that sort of decisions.

As for missed appointments.... I would charge them. Every single one of them. At a different rate for GP than Consultants but still charged because otherwise people take the service for granted/just don't care. Very unfortunate but very true, and true in a lot of areas, not just health.

Fwiw, not wing able to get some inhalers for asthma when the illness is well know is shocking.
Asthma IS a life threatening condition and its appalling that anyone would go wo one because somehow the system doesn't allow a repeat or a review.

Yes that is what he said, he argued with her for quite a while about how he had rib pain/chest pain.

She's not medically qualified. I bet any doctor even over the phone would ask if it was left side or right side. It's chest pain in an elderly man and needed to be checked urgently to see a doctor not the reckoning of an unqualified receptionist!!

Asking people what the problem is means you're going to get people either not fully admitting all the symptoms out of embarrassment or misdiagnosing themselves.

I had a snide walk in receptionist when I said I thought I had a chest infection. "You think you have a chest infection?" Perhaps I should walk in with my own diagnosis and I'm just visiting the doctor for fun. Let's make antibiotics available to buy over the counter as evidently everybody should be able to know they have heart pain or bacterial chest infections. Why get a doctor to prescribe them when the Receptionist can just tell us what we need.

I just had to make GP appt here on holiday and voluntarily told the receptionist what the issue was without being asked. Bet she was surprised

I had a snide walk in receptionist when I said I thought I had a chest infection. "You think you have a chest infection?"
Ah yes, my dm has also had this. Despite the fact her gp had told her it was important to see him urgently if she was experiencing any symptoms of a chest infection following heart surgery 🤦‍♀️

There is a difference between thinking and having been diagnosed.

HashiAsLarry as awful as that is that they won't just issue your inhalers, at no point in your post did you say you'd actually made an appointment to speak to the doctor when you phoned up. With you going to a new practice a lot of doctors won't just give a repeat prescription or add a medication to a prescription list, even for long term medications, without seeing the patient first.

I have been on some lifelong medication since I was 14, whenever I have registered with a new doctor (when I went away to Uni, when I moved abroad, when I returned to my hometown) I had to make an appointment to go in and see the doctor before they would issue the repeat prescription. Even when I moved back to the UK and re-registered with the same practice and the same doctor who had diagnosed my condition and started me on the medication I needed at 14, I still had to have a review appointment before they would issue the first prescription from their practice.

I don't know the specific rules or regulations regarding prescribing asthma inhalers, but if I was asthmatic, had run out of my medication and a new surgery wouldn't just give me a repeat prescription, I'd be making the next available appointment, not just complaining that phoning up wasn't changing the fact you didn't have an inhaler.

meji
I've seen them for a review already, which is why they've issued some of my medication on repeat but don't know why when they've not issued the inhalers, especially as I was called up specifically re flu jab as I'm on their system as asthmatic. Like I say, they aren't good gps but I've little choice locally. I haven't been able to drop into the surgery which I think is the only way I'll get an appt for this now. My old gps would give you a note explaining why they won't repeat them usually because they want my to go in for review, this one just says no.

melj even. Sorry

mine ask so they can refer to the most appropriate doctor with particular specialisms in certain conditions, or the practice nurse or nurse prescriber if its not too serious. They do it very nicely though so 'can I ask what you require the doctor for or is it personal' I dont mind saying as it means I get the most appropriate care when I do have to go in.

Any receptionists on here, could you tell me if this is common?

Decided to try a different tack on the phone after being inspired by this thread and asked if I was due an asthma review - tbh I think it's been 18m since my last one so probably was due. Upshot of the story is that they didn't know but have given me an appt for a review which is great but I was told that they will only reissue repeats from the old dr if I have paperwork showing I have gotten them . They have reissued some though, without me providing anything following my initial appt where my asthma was discussed as well as my other problems. Sounds bloody weird to me, as clearly at some point someone was looking in my files from my old dr.

I phoned the gp to get an appointment for my dh. He would have been happy to wait a few weeks but the receptionist asked me for his symptoms ( which weren't overly alarming to us) She, however obviously picked up on something and immediately went and found a gp to talk to him. Ambulance was called and he was blue lighted into hospital with heart problems. He lived to tell the tale, so we, at least have no problem with telling a receptionist our symptoms.

Ohtheroses are you saying that as a Receptionist, it was my fault that a patient told me "I'm going to come down there and rape you"?