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?

I don't mind telling them what's wrong its when some try and diagnose me over the phone. Lump in my boob- have you been to the pharmacy erm no its not a cough its a lump. what does the nipple look like? How are you checking? How long? Discharge? Pimpling etc. That's when I want to say your not a doctor I obviously dont
I hate it when I don't want to see the doctor but being pregnant pharmacy etc. won't tend to help you so I have to see the doctor and the receptionist gives a gobful that it's a waste of an appointment. Funnily enough my receptionist is two joined GPS you can use either, my OH rang for an appointment and receptionist said no appointments before even asking which one after OH questioning it turns out there was appointments at the second GPS.

Yes it's a stressful job but aren't you supposed to not carry feelings onto your next patient/customer etc. Just because the last patients was a cut doesn't mean I am.

I can't remember who it was who complained that we try and give you a morning appointment when a late one would be more convenient - this is for the simple reason that if we gave everyone who rang first thing a late appointment then the morning appointments would be unused and we would run the risk that there wouldn't be appointments for people who ring in the afternoon needing to be seen.

OhtheRoses the only duty to provide reasonable adjustments is for disability.

I think part of the problem is that it is often do difficult to get an appointment that patients are on the offensive from the start. At our surgery, you can only call for appointments at specific times - no e of which are 'friendly' if you work. 8:30 to 10:00 (I start work at 8:00) and 14:00 to 17:00. In this area a large number of people commute into London for work, so even those who don't start work u til later, are usually on their way in at that time of the morning. So, to even try to get the appointment you are making yourself late for work. Then there's the half hour or so you're in a queue before you even get to speak to the receptionist. And then there's the 'unless it's an emergency, the earliest we can see you is in four weeks time - and yes, that is the wait for a non-emergency appointment at our surgery. Well, the thing is, what is a minor issue now could easily escalate whilst I'm waiting four weeks. So then you have the battle to see a doctor sooner. Last time I needed to see the gp I needed a certificate as I had been off work with a different problem, not bothered the doctor, when a new problem developed which was infectious and would have taken me over the self certificate period. Receptionist eventually deigned to offer me a telephone appointment. Doctor decided he needed to see me and an appointment was made for that day. But it shouldn't have been a battle. I was not rude to the receptionist, but I can see how someone could be. She on the other hand had an attitude that really was not helpful - 'computer says no'and implied I was in the wrong for being ill with two, unrelated problems and needing a certificate. I won't even begin to tell you of the problems my husband has had trying to get appointments to see gp wrt his chronic condition. Our doctors are fantastic, it's a shame they are not that good at finding equally fantastic receptionists.

I'm always OVERLY polite to GP receptionists because I'm dreading being spoken to like crap and treated as such.

I was 2 months postpartum and over due for my check up and the receptionist told me that it wasn't compulsory for a doctor to check up on me, that I wasn't in need of medical advice or attention at that moment in time and I should go back another day when they were less busy!

If anything I think the receptionists feel 'entitled' to belittle you and give some medical advice even when they aren't always trained to.

Alpcasandwich I was a practice nurse and patients were SO rude to the receptionists. All receptionists in drs surgery's have my respect. I think all gps practice managers and nurses should be a receptionist for a day just to realise how much multi tasking they do and how much crap they put up with from the general public! Be kind people.

I'm sorry the op was treated badly, but a significant number of doctors receptionists i have encoutered have been rude, snooty and at times downright aggressive, despite the fact I've been nothing but polite and accomodating.

I think some of the people who take the job get a kick out of being the gatekeeper to the doctor and bask in the reflected glory and power. I do think it can attract a certain personality type. (not exclusively though)

Because someone else was rude to you earlier in the day, it doesn't give you a free pass to be rude to everyone who comes through the door. If you are arsey with people as a default, it shouldn't be a great surprise that people in pain or distress and frustrated at not going to see the Doctor, meet default hostility with hostility.

I wonder if in the op's case the previous/other receptionists are rude, then people will come in expecting aggrievation and behave accordingly.

Presumably practice partners have no objection to any of their various staff spending up to 90 minutes of their contractual working hours trying to get appointments at or dealing with issues at their own GP practices?

Any GPs around who would like to comment about that. I'm in work by 8.30 and often there until 6.30 five days a week. I am quite sure I work under as much pressure as the average GP. At my practice no GP works more than three days a week. It is understandable they have no perception of the pressures people who work full time are under.

Stress? Multi-tasking? Other people have much more demanding jobs and they manage not to be rude and officious to other people they come into contact with.

Medical staff in A&E are under huge stress as are secondary school teachers. Funnily enough they are not cold and frosty and downright unhelpful...

Why should GPs comment? They are not the ones who have to face the unfriendliness.

GP receptionists are a mixed bag. Some are lovely and some just have a god complex.

An elderly gentleman brought a prescription in to my pharmacy and the medication he was prescribed would seriously interact with one of his other meds. So, I rang the surgery (3 doors down) to have a quick word with the prescribing GP and was told in no uncertain terms by the receptionist (very rudely) that the doctor is far too busy for such mundane inquiries, and to just give the patient the tablets as the doctor wouldn't have prescribed them if they would interact.

Well I lost my rag, put the phone down, marched into the surgery and had to explain to the stupid woman that it is my job to pick up on these things and it's not up to her to decide if an interaction is dangerous or not.

I spoke to the GP who changed the prescribed medication and advised him of what happened with the receptionist. She couldn't be more helpful after that .

Another time a different receptionist (same surgery) sent a patient in to speak to me instead of directing to one of the GPs as she didn't think he warranted an urgent appointment. The patient was having a heart attack.

GP's are the ones who pay and are responsible for the conduct of their reception staff. That's why.

If GP practices think It's fine for patients to spend hours sorting put routine matters I'd very much like a GO to let me know they are fine with their own practice staff doing the same in their contractual hours. If they aren't happy with that why should other employers be happy with it was because that in reality is what happens.

It is understandable they have no perception of the pressures people who work full time are under.

You must be joking?! I worked full time in reception and all of the GPs I've worked with did 8-7 weekdays, extra Sundays, sometimes lates up to 8:30pm and the odd Sat or Sun. The only ones on 3/4 sessions were over retirement age.

It's not about lack of respect for working people it's that there are no appointments. If we wanted to see our own GPs we had to take time off too!

I wonder if in the op's case the previous/other receptionists are rude, then people will come in expecting aggrievation and behave accordingly

But you said "if someone was rude to you earlier, you don't get a free pass to be rude to someone else". Does that not apply to patients?!

Most users of GP practices by far are the elderly, the under 5s and people of working age with chronic conditions.
This does make the system frustrating for people who work during the day.
With huge extra pressure on the system it has become much harder to offer appointments in advance but not weeks away if you see what I mean. Eg your above examples le of ears blocked with wax, it can be very temporarily disabling but is not an emergency.... a time lapse of a week would be fine but it's not available ... added to whichyou don't want to take time off work which is understandable but the nurse's clinic is during the afternoon rather than at the 'acute' times of day which would suit you better. I feel your irritation as a working parent myself... trying to get an appointment to fit in with our lives is at times impossible. At our surgery doctors will take written enquiries if it is a simple question.
Phone calls can work but I take your point that when busy at work hanging about for a phone call is not always practical , nor do most of us want to publicise our health issues.
The system is set up to work for the majority of users... attempted tweaks eg phone calls/ messages/ on line booking etc help a bit but have been somewhat thwarted by increasing demand on the system.
It is not just hubris to say this but you would be astonished at the volume of work; sheer number of tasks that need to be completed in a day at a doctor' surgery. Every single member of the team is working flat out ... and every task is important to the patient concerned.this is fundamental and most hcps including support staff are aware that seeking help or needing help is stressful and that patients are deserving of respect and empathy.
Saying all of that ... be a fly in the wall in a receptionists cubicle and everyone in this thread who has been critical would be amazed at the unreasonableness and entitled attitude of a very few but not insignificant number of service users.
It is a very demanding job .
Rant over

Not joking. No GP in my surgery does more than six clinics per week. That's one Dr out of 8. Most do four. None is in more than three days each week.

Annual average salary is £78,500.

No out of hours. Open 8.30. There are appointments available until 7pm most nights but the switch is turned off at 5.30 so if a train is cancelled impossible to let them know.

I do believe healthcare where we now live is particularly poor however.

But receptionists aren't only rude to people who are trying to get appointments. I had one be rude to me over supplying vital specimen pots which cost pence each. We had an agreed protocol with DD's consultant and GP about getting specimens sent off asap without the need to see a GP first. When I asked for a supply she handed me one pot. When I said please could I have more than one as I would be using one that day and would like spares she replied "This is the NHS you know" in a condecending tone and reluctantly handed me a 2nd pot. I stopped short of lecturing her on how much I would be saving the NHS by catching any deterioration in DD's condition quickly and preventing hospital admission or the need for a GP appointment. I took the pot home and complained about her to the Senior Partner.

I remember a while ago I was unwell, bleeding from the bottom if anyone is ineterested. I couldn't see a Dr, because the Hitler's on reception wouldn't gove me an appointment but I managed to see the practice nurse who was excellent, did blood tests etc and insisted I see the GP. She took me down to reception herself and told the reception that she HAD to allocate me an appointment for the following morning.,

The receptionist did this, but not without loudly complaining about the nurse in front of me and everyone else in the waiting room, saying how she had no right how to to tell her how to do her job etc. Yes how dare a trained health care professional tell some busybody pen pusher on reception what to do, I didn't realise that GPS receptionists had fucking medical degrees.

I'm now with a different surgery and the receptionists are lovely.

I find this thread interesting predominantly because 60 odd percent of posters detailing their experiences with doctors recepianists have been carefully not to generalise

And I haven't seen many posters come and say you know what .....there are members of our profession who are like this but the rest of us try really hard.....mostly they are posting whining that they are undervalued and under appreciate and it's not their fault and in fact it's probably the patents fault

....therein lies the rub that attitude initself is what puts peoples backs up

I'm in care there are some great staff there are some rubbish staff....I can own that

GP receptionist may well be undervalued but find me a profession thay doesn't claim this? ....I work in an industry that is 7 until 10 on a good day where you are enter off call and vulnerable elderly people rely on us to etc out of bed in the morning

It's pressurised and frankly we get soshouted at for unrealistic expectations.....but I choose to dot his job.....I don't get to bitch about being under valued and more importantly it doesn't justify me being a bitch to vulnerable people

The fact that the majority have had some form of bad experiences and very few of the receptionists posting have accepted in any possible way that there may be colleagues who are unpleasant pretty much defines it

There would be a lot less pressure if Drs worked a minimum of 4 days per week.

A week's delay would have been great 're my ears. I waited three weeks for a first thing dr's apt and then was unable to make an appointment for the syringing. The earlier appointment was 21 August at 1.30. I walked into a private GP service next to my DD's school and booked the appointment for 15th July, a Saturday. No need to see the GP to confirm it was required once I explained it was a problem every 7-8 years and I had failed a hearing test. £60 well spent. Had the receptionist said ear syringing only available at lunchtime when I explained I needed a first thing apt, then I wouldn't have wasted mine, the dr's time or the receptionists.

It does seem that practices make themselves busier by being so unhelpful and paying not enough attention to basic service and organisation.

For most things it would actually be more cost effective to use private services and I am being pushed to continue more and more. I'm happy to do that but when I do need to use the NHS it would be nice if things could operate more smoothly and with the needs and convenience of the patient at heart rather than the needs of the doctor.

I'm surprised by this thread . I have only met nice helpful ones.

Today 10:44 MissJC

GP receptionists are a mixed bag. Some are lovely and some just have a god complex.

An elderly gentleman brought a prescription in to my pharmacy and the medication he was prescribed would seriously interact with one of his other meds. So, I rang the surgery (3 doors down) to have a quick word with the prescribing GP and was told in no uncertain terms by the receptionist (very rudely) that the doctor is far too busy for such mundane inquiries, and to just give the patient the tablets as the doctor wouldn't have prescribed them if they would interact.

Well I lost my rag, put the phone down, marched into the surgery and had to explain to the stupid woman that it is my job to pick up on these things and it's not up to her to decide if an interaction is dangerous or not.

I spoke to the GP who changed the prescribed medication and advised him of what happened with the receptionist. She couldn't be more helpful after that grin.

Another time a different receptionist (same surgery) sent a patient in to speak to me instead of directing to one of the GPs as she didn't think he warranted an urgent appointment. The patient was having a heart attack.

Those examples are seriously concerning. How dare they take it upon themselves to make unilateral decisions! They don't have the right or the expertise. I despair.

Today 11:22 barefootinkitchen

I'm surprised by this thread . I have only met nice helpful ones.

Then you are lucky and probably in the minority. One post struck me upthread: someone who said she was overly polite to them - think she was pregnant - in case they said something that would make her feel worse.

I just usually suck up rudeness from surgery receptionists as one of the prices of having the NHS free at point of use. But occasionally, you get one who is so offhand and rude that I just reflect a little bit of the rudeness back, say by a factor of alpha = 0.2