Fucking GP receptionists

[Eliza9917]

Aibu to think they must train them to be as rude, unhelpful and patronising as possible???

Just left the GP's and I feel like caving the fucking receptionists smug cunting face in.

Yes that's probably an overreaction but they fucking wind me up on a par with dealing with the fucking council.

Ours are lovely and helpful. I wouldn't want to do their job. The phones ringing non-stop, constant extra admin tasks piled on, grumpy patients, grumpy doctors etc.

I think it's a difficult job, but the confrontational attitude seems to be there to start with.

I would imagine the GP's are very frustrating to deal with, and they are dealing with clients who are not going to be in the best mood due to not feeling well, being worried etc.

I think it takes an extra level of patience to be a GP receptionist as there is the added pressure of managing the few appointments they have.

That's why it is disappointing and infuriating to be treated sometimes like you are returning a pair of soiled pants to Primark.

They are by no means the worse customer facing staff in my opinion, my favourites are the post office parcel collection staff. Rude, ignorant and incompetent..even though most people are there to collect deliveries that were not attempted in the first place.

I agree with you OP, they are so fucking rude I ended up hanging up on one last week and rang back to speak to somebody else and when I complained about the first bitch I spoke to the second lady seemed pissed off that I was complaining about her, funnily enough over the phone they are more cocky than real life

They are lovely at my practice, very professional and doing a great job, under a lot of pressure as most NHS staff are.

I hate the way all GP receptionists are tarred with the same brush.

This is the precise problem with them though - they tar all patients with the same brush themselves. It can't be nice when they face abuse but they really don't need to perceive all patients as cunts and deal with them like a bit of shit on their shoe.

GP receptionists are the second most put upon group after traffic wardens. They get abuse every day (I've seen it), and are generally asked by the doctors to double check whether an appointment is really needed. The reason? Because there are a lot of people who think they can see the doctor for things that are entirely unnecessary e.g. minor sore throats, sniffles etc. If people went to the pharmacy first, doctors would have more time to see you for more major complaints. But too many people 'it's free, so I'll use it'.

It isn't their fault there are no appointments that day and it isn't their fault the phone system has kept you hanging on.

So remember this.and be polite.

At my surgery, having just seen the doctor ... “Hi, Dr. Smiles has asked me to make an appointment to see him again on Monday next week please”, click click “next appointment is on [date over a month away]”. Me “could you check with Dr Smiles please as he seemed keen that he sees me on Monday”. “That won’t be possible, I’ve booked you in for [over a month away]”. Dr Smiles comes out “hello Mrs BuggerOff, all sorted?” “I’m booked in for [over a month away] as there aren’t any appointments for Monday” Dr “don’t be ridiculous I was looking at the appointment page and there are plenty of appointments.... I will see Mre BuggerOff at 9.30 on Monday”. Receptionist was totally bullshitting about the appointments!

I think mine can be a little short at times but I think I can understand why. I was once waiting for a hour for my whooping cough vaccine and sat by the desk. Some of the people who were outraged they couldn't walk in and be seen straight awsy etc were extreamly rude and would put anyone in a bad mood

They do seem to think they know more than they really do. I was advised after being diagnosed with MS that if I have an infection for longer than 3 days to call for antibiotics as better safe then sorry. Did as I was instructed and was advised by the unqualified (as far as I know) receptionist that I can’t have antibiotics just like that. I explained what I had been told again and said please speak to my doctor, she was very huffy and difficult then had to call me back an hour later to let me know my antibiotic prescription is ready to collect.

Geez, what did they do - shit in your urine sample?

I wouldn’t ...

Like anything, a bit of grovelling and politeness goes a long way ...

zispin amazing typo

Lovely receptionists at my current surgery too.

If they are anything let he receptionists at my old surgery YANBU!

Ours are all great.

If there anything like some of the receptionists at my drs, YANBU.... truly unhelpful and condescending, looking down at you like your nothing. I’m thinking you work at the doctors office love hardly 6figure earning. The one I spoke to pissed the doctor off the other day when I told the doctor she wouldn’t patch me through to her regarding important results so had to make a telephone appointment 4 days later. Doctor said I will speak to her so it doesn’t happen again.
Just be sarcastic and fiery back.

Ours locally are wonderful. However, my SIL is a receptionist in another part of the country and every working day she has to deal with endless, rude, entitled abusers and a fair number of time-wasting serial appointment bookers who only really want to talk to someone (anyone at all). Don't know how she copes.

At my last practice one of the receptionists was spectacularly rude and unpleasant all the time. I am now with a different practice and they are very nice and helpful. Sometimes the doctors are as bad. I phoned to ask for a home visit for my son who was extremely unwell. The doctor said they only do them for the elderly, so he could just come into the surgery. We have no public transport, so I drove him down even though he was incredibly ill with a high temperature. How did the doctor expect him to get there himself, as he doesn't drive and there was no other way for him to get there?! Just assumed I suppose there was someone there to drive him down.

Mine are pretty jumped up.

I had a paramedic come to my house because ds floppy and unresponsive, fever and throwing up, on top of a chest infection. He hadn't eaten for four days or drank a drop for nearly two and had only wee'd once in two days.

He was three.

Paramedic called gp to get an appointment because he needed antibiotics (para had taken a few tests to see if he needed hospital but thankfully sats and blood glucose were both ok)

He explained the situation and was asked 'is it an emergency?'

Ffs. He had come a bloody ambulance. Of course it was an emergency.

Turned out he needed strong antibiotics and steriods.

I had called 111 because the same receptionist wouldn't give me an appointment for him.

They said don't go to walk in he either needs gp or A&E, hence the ambulance, so if it was A&E we could go straight there.

They’re in a no win situation. You want something they haven’t got. Time, appointments, information, attention. Having said that, there are those who seem to think THEY are the senior partners in the surgery.

I can think of far harder jobs than being a GP receptionist and have had contact with professionals in the fields I'm thinking of, and I've still not encountered rudeness from them either at all or anywhere near the level I've known from GP receptionists. I'm always mystified at the "well it's a hard job" responses. When I was very young I worked the phones at several cab companies; verbal abuse and threats of physical violence were commonplace, especially on night shifts, but I never felt the need to behave as I've known some GP receptionists do. Later, I worked phones at a force contact centre alongside 999 handlers - same thing. Having a "stressful" job doesn't make it ok that people report being too intimidated to contact their surgery because they can't handle the thought of dealing with the arsehole that's going to answer the phone.

My gp kept fucking up when I was pregnant and sending my iron tablets to a pharmacy on the other side of the city I live in , I asked them many times to change it and was assured they would. They didn’t change it I was heavily pregnant stood at the reception telling her I don’t have a car anymore so cannot go that far to get them and can she re order them for a pharmacy near by she said “can’t you get the bus” I nearly jumped (rolled) over the counter and throttled her.

Ours seemed to be OK, until recently there was one I hadn't seen before. Couldn't be bothered to tell me which room to go to so I had to wander around feeling ill until I found the name on the door. Then sniggered and sneered when I asked for a sample bottle. Actually looked to the side and laughed at me. They have some very bad reviews and I can see why.

they tar all patients with the same brush themselves. It can't be nice when they face abuse but they really don't need to perceive all patients as cunts and deal with them like a bit of shit on their shoe.

This is why I quit. Can't be dealing with these attitudes.

No job is worth the shit being a GP receptionist brings with it.

Ours are awful too. Make you feel like you have no right to be asking to see a doctor, like you’re just a massive inconvenience to them

I feel like caving the fucking receptionists smug cunting face in.

With patients like this, no wonder the receptionists become hard. They probably start off being nice, then meet the moaners, the hypochondriacs, the bolshy entitled idiots, and the downright aggressive.

I rarely go to the doctor and find the receptionists cold and impatient, rather than rude. They seem to assume you're a time waster. But the OP's language says a lot about how she presents at the doctor's, and if this is an example of a patient then you can't blame the staff.