AIBU to think people feel entitled to be rude to GP Receptionists?

[alpacasandwich]

I've got a job stacking shelves in a supermarket. I love it. People are mostly kind, friendly and above all respectful. If someone asks me where something is, they are so apologetic about me abandoning whatever I'm doing.

By my third shift in a GP surgery I'd been sworn at, regularly told I was responsible if someone died before they could see a GP, been given the line "I pay your wages", been hung up on over the phone multiple times, I barely went 20mins without someone angrily eye rolling and shouting and being hideous.

Why do people treat people like that? I always heard retail is hell, but the odd moany customer is the exception. As a receptionist you're treated with absolute disdain no matter how hard you work and how nice you are. I used to cry in the toilets.

AIBU to think people feel entitled to behave this way, maybe due to the idea that receptionists are evil witches?

@OhTheRoses as i said before, of course we understand when patients are pissed off - we are patients too! Being a GP receptionist doesn't mean you never need to see a doctor and we're not allowed to register at the surgery we work at so a lot of the time we've been in a very similar situation ourselves.

If you take it out on front line staff every time you're frustrated with a situation you're definitely the kind of person those working in public facing roles dread.

We can also advise on the best clinician to see. We know this but we also know we are not doctors
Last time I asked if I could possibly have an appointment with someone who specialised in a certain aspect of general practice I was abruptly told they are all GPs so don't specialise in anything. I could almost sense her rolling her eyes at me over the phone. Yes, I realise they are GENERAL practitioners, but if someone has a particular interest in, say, gastric issues, then they're more likely to do extra research on that subject surely, and therefore I'd be happier seeing that GP if I had gut problems. Her tone of voice just oozed "you're an idiot".

And I don't know whether part of the training is "don't smile at patients" because whenever one smiles at me I'm shocked because it's so rare. That's pretty poor I think, especially as I always greet others with a smile. It's a pleasant start to a transaction and it's not hard to do.

But those front line staff caused the problem and then compounded it. Was it unreasonable to be cross when I had had to leave work to sort it out? Should the response have been we are terribly sorry or do you agree the receptionist shod have started shouting at me. I think it was perfectly reasonable to ask why they had said the script was at reception, why they thought the pharmacist should have been inconvenienced and why they thought it was right that I'd had to leave work 20 miles away to sort it out.

They caused the problem. They needed to sort it out. If they want thanks and not to be accountable for their mistakes then they should do the job properly in the first place.

@OhTheRoses I'd be interested to hear how you think an admin error caused a 12 day delay in your prescription - I've never heard anything close to that. In our case if a prescription isn't ready within the 48 hours there's a 100% chance it's sat on a doctors desk because they've forgot to bring it out from their room. Unfortunately in this case the patient has to wait because we won't interrupt consultations for anything less than an emergency.

Mistakes happen, human error is a thing, and unfortunately you were inconvenienced that day but it's no good taking it out on reception staff it's only going to reflect badly on your character.

Personally, if someone is rude to me I'll try to give them the benefit of the doubt but if they continue to be aggressive and confrontational I'm going to stand up for myself. Sounds like you would like all receptionists to be completely passive and desperate to please you. The NHS is a service not a business, if you're not happy go elsewhere, I promise you no one will give a shit.

my practice
2 GP's of 6 sessions and 1 GP of 8 sessions plus 1extra session per week. We have 5200 patients.
Gp's are in usually by 7.30am and seldom leave before 6.30pm,
Out of hours 3 mornings per week, but not much demand for the appointments at that time.
The receptionsts are trained to within an inch of their lives and do a wonderful job and l think for the most part are appreciated by the patients.

spicy sent letter to Dr with repeat prescription requests for dd and me and an sae addressed to me. Let's say posted on 1st of month. Two days to reach surgery, write prescription and allow two days for return. Should have been back by 6th. Nothing arrived. On 12th I called in at surgery and reception had DD's script in the folder. I asked why it hadn't been posted and was told there was a note to say data protection issue because envelope was addressed to me. Do you not think a phone call might have helped in those circumstances? No idea what happened to my script but was told it would be ready the following day for me to collect. It wasn't. DD's script was dated 3rd so it had sat there for days because a receptionist had decided not to post it even though the same request had been followed several times previously.

The practice partner apologised. The practice manager apologised. Interestingly not receptionist on this thread has been in the least concerned.

As you say no-one at receptionist level gives a shit.

GP practices are small businesses which provide a commissioned service. That's why partners are self employed. If, like in France, I paid a fee (reclaimable if necessary) to the surgery I think you would find that GP's would quite quickly have to ensure their staff started stepping up a bit.

I just started a job as a doctors receptionist on Monday. Great thread to read

I'm bloody lovely, my team seem really lovely too, to each other and the patients. They say they rarely encounter much rudeness at all, so maybe that's why. They really know their stuff and are kind and helpful.

The receptionists at my own doctors are really rude though. Swings and roundabouts I guess.

@OhTheRoses

Our GPs absolutely hold us accountable for errors, I say 'no one will give a shit' based on a conversation with a senior partner just last week about a patient who had been rude to me and her response was "well if she doesn't like it she's welcome to register elsewhere". We have over 15,000 patients, you and your family would not be missed. The majority of patients are lovely, grateful and understanding.

Fair enough that they were in the wrong but as I said previously, human errors happen.

There is not enough time in the day to phone everyone every time there's a question about their prescriptions and reception staff will only do so if asked to by a doctor. You can't complain about how long it takes to get through on the phone while also complaining that receptionists aren't phoning patients enough - everyone else trying to call through would be waiting even longer. You have to try and find a happy medium and it's difficult but receptionists only act on doctors or practice managers orders.

There is a large shortage of GPs. That is the real issue. At my GP surgery I can usually get seen that day, or at most within a few days. My FIL is the same at his GPs. But we live in areas where there are no shortages. It does not matter if GPs are paid through the NHS or by individuals, if there are not enough, there will always be problems.

And do you agree spicy that if an error occurs those making it should put it right by making sure it is then dealt with quickly and efficiently.

I am grateful for good service. I am not grateful for poor service and not should I be. It was also the receptionist who started shouting, not me. I had to ask her to lower her voice and who she thought she was speaking to. I had not made any errors - the support staff had.

Up until the last few years we have barely visited the Dr and when we have needed treatment we have been referred privately.

I have a simple chronic condition. It used to require one blood test and one script a year. Then the powers introduced 28 day prescribing although at least they will do an 84 day script now. I didn't cause that additional work.

DH has 're to the Drs twice in 28 years. DS about once in 10 years. DD admittedly often in the last few years. But .pat of her treatment has been private except for GP prescribing which I've no compunction about as all her clinical care has been private because the NHS refused to provide it so they can at least pick up the cost of her ad's, Ritalin and one other med for a rare physical condition which the NHS also failed to diagnose.

So actually I'm not sure we wouldn't be missed. I think we more than cover our costs.

Good for you for having such high levels of self importance but I promise you unless you're at the UKs smallest surgery no one would even notice.

I also have a chronic condition which was both diagnosed and is now being treated privately, not sure why you think that makes you special or relevant?

I'm not about to argue with you or anyone else about this, thankfully I'm only working part time while I'm at uni so won't have to deal with rude patients much longer.

Genuinely don't know how some people I work with put up with it for so long, I'm 21, been working there for a year part time and I'm already totally over being treated like I'm subhuman just because someone didn't get their prescription on time.

Reading this thread I now have a new appreciation for our GP receptionists.

They are polite, professional and genuinely compassionate. If you turn up in tears worried about something they'll find a medical person to speak to you ASAP. Sometimes that's one of the nurses but they strive to help where possible.

The only time I've seen their firm side is when patients are rude/nasty to other patients or staff. That always goes down like a lead balloon but it's not a frequently witnessed problem. I guess we're lucky judging by this thread!

My doctors have managed to take 2 weeks to sort out a prescription leaving me short of medication. I was not happy.

Roses, why don't you arrange for the pharmacist to collect the scripts if they are a regular thing? You won't need to worry about having them posted to you and you are also saving time by not having to take it to the pharmacist.
You can also arrange with most pharmacists that they order the meds in a timely manner so you can bypass the nasty inefficient receptionist.
They can also arrange to have it sent electronically (unless in Wales) meaning it can be tracked. The reception team can see exactly where it is in process although they aren't responsible for when the gp signs it. There are no lost scripts using this method.

This would prevent the same issue from happening again.
Signed a fascist, obstructive, jobsworth of a gp receptionist.

A lot of people posting here have said they have never come across a helpful pleasant GP Receptionist. For a lot of people that will sadly be true. In my case it is also true.

I am a Nurse and thought that this might actually improve things, but even dealing with them on a professional level, they have been horrid.

That is not to say they are all horrid. Just in my experience they have been.

My mum is one. She is the kindest, most selfless, helpful lady ever. She never complains or loses her patience when people are rude to her, but I know it must make her feel a bit down sometimes when she tries so hard to help but patients are cruel to her and make personal comments.

Please be nice to them, even the ones that come across as rude, they have very stressful jobs. You have nothing to lose by doing that.

I'm one and I'll do my best to help someone out if I can. All I ask is to be treated as an actual human being and not have someone scream at me.

Also, its a bloody stressful job at times and I go home mentally wrecked at times.

My GP surgery is meant to be one of the worst in the country, yet I can think of only two receptionists there (and a few doctors - luckily there are several amazing ones) out of the 20-odd they have that I would prefer not to speak to. Almost all of them are really lovely and even when I've phoned up, in tears, asking to speak to a specific GP that day, they have always done their best to help me.

I've had a few of them spend time with me over the phone, just calming me down and listening to why I was so upset, and have even said that I can phone up any time and ask specifically for them if I'm struggling mental health wise and need someone to talk to. It's not something I do very often, but it's incredibly helpful to know that they're there, and they're always very lovely when I see them face to face.

I have written thank you cards, and mentioned specific people to my GP to make sure they get thanked too, because I have seen first-hand what abuse they get.

I'll tell you why LittleDrummerGirl. DD has MH problems. The GP will write a repeat once between a face to face review if dd writes her a note letting her know she is ok and the meds are continuing to help. That note was included in the original request. She also required evidence that dd continues to be reviewed by her psychiatrist. The one we had to engage when CAMHS refused to help because dd was only cutting superficially and had only taken a cpl of small overdoses.

Thankfully the psychiatrist insisted on full bloods which revealed a physical issue which when followed up was Addisons and then diagnosed ADHD which was at the root of DD's MH problems.

spicyavocado, I have a child older than you by just a little bit. Fortunately he is wiser and considerably more thoughtful and polite.

I've only once lost my temper with a receptionist and it was at my Dads GP. I explained I lived abroad and it's 5 hours behind the UK so no I can't call back at 9am. I could however call back at 10am as I wake at 5am. The lady had the nerve to tell me that I should wake up an hour earlier.

What she didn't know was that I was in the middle of hell. Work was crazy with me working 9am-1am, getting home for 2am and waking up at 5am to do it all over again. It had gone on for 7-8 weeks and it was 6 days a week with 9-6pm on Sundays. I was doing this while pregnant, was about 7 months along and also running around 2 DC while my DH was posted to the U.K. For 3 weeks.

OP - As other have said, people are upset because service is so poor. You are what they see as the face. You probably spend more time with patients than GPs do. I know that is certainly the case for my father. My dad continually brings in chocolates, tea bags, coffee, got the office staff a collection of mugs and if he has an early appointment before heading to the hospital he brings them all in breakfast platters with bagels (which he makes himself), pastries and fruit. You would think they could be nice to him. Only two are nice. The others are patronizing arseholes who deserve all the wrath they get. They are miserable bats who take pleasure in seeing others suffer. I almost cheered when a young boy threw up on her after making them wait in the general waiting area for an hour even though his mother had said 3 times that she was worried about him.

I certainly don't think I am doing the GP practice and therefore the receptionists a favour by being a patient there. I think they are doing me a favour by seeing me. Even if I was paying I wouldn't think that I was doing them a favour. I would still expect to be polite to the receptionists and not blame every system problem on them.

At our surgery if they say they have chest pains we ask if they're centralised and if it feels like the chest is being crushed.

And if they say no, not urgent? What happens if they say no?

Because cardiac pain does not always present like this, especially in women

I find this extremely worrying. NO triaging should be done by reception staff other than for routine stuff (wart clinic, routine checks, smears, etc.) no one calling up with symptoms should be triaged by a receptionist- you are not medically qualified. It's risky, it's dangerous, and it exposes you, the receptionist to serious liability issues. It's absolutely not ok to do this, it's very, very poor clinical practice.

Like in all jobs there are those who are helpful and those who try to make life as difficult as possible. I have the utmost patience with the GP receptionists who go out of their way to help. I have no regard for those who give a blanket "No. Cant help" .....Especially when you speak to different receptionist, within 5 minutes, and they actually take the time to listen and help out.

Meh! Some receptionists are good at their jobs. Others take the piss......