Receptionists at the Doctor's surgery

[CallingFromLondon]

AIBU to be fed up of all these jokes and complaints about them? "They don't have a medical degree, they just think they do". Or "Why do they ask all those questions?"

They ask so they can redirect you to the right place or person. If you ring up and want to see a GP about a rash, you're not going to want to see a GP specialising in mental health, are you?!

Sorry, rant over. I know I'm not being unreasonable.

I’ve never had a problem telling the receptionists why I need an appointment, they need to prioritise. When I had a lump on my boob I just said I’d like a female GP to look at a lump, no further questions asked. Far less embarrassing than pharmacy’s actually where I’ve had to explain my symptoms, if I’ve had them before and my medical history to an assistant who then decides if you need to relay all this to the pharmacist!!

Some years ago I rang our GP because DH, who has an ongoing heart condition, came home at lunch time looking grey and clammy, and feeling rotten. I asked if I could bring him round to see the doc, she spoke to whoever was on duty, and they sent for an emergency ambulance. Straight to A&E, and admitted that day.

It was a difficult diagnosis, it took a couple of weeks as an inpatient before he had surgery. We are very grateful to the receptionist for speaking to the GP, and to the GP for making the decision. I understand the gate keeping, however some receptionists don't have the right level of awareness to deal with patients who may feel embarrassed or vulnerable. Empathy and understanding should score highly when recruiting. The actual job can be learnt!

Last point, my GP publishes the number of missed appointments every month. Its usually more than 40 for the GPs and not many fewer for the practice nurse. Its a small surgery, and apart from the odd one or two where people may genuinely have forgotten, its not acceptable IMO. Especially when the NHS is under so much strain.

We have had massive issues with our GPs receptionist - to the point where our GP and Practice Manager had to apologise for her attitude.

She actually believed she could override our Consultants medical advice by unbooking my sons flu vaccination several times. He's high risk. And yet she had the audacity to phone me up, cancel the appointment that we had made via the GP and shout "how dare you book this" whilst doing so.

Also at the same practice but different receptionist. I was sat in the waiting room waiting to see a GP about my mental health after losing 2 grandparents in quick succession & PND. I heard a receptionist shout to the back office "Mrs is in the morgue love - no need to book her in .... That was my Grandma.....

Still at the practise because the Practice Manager and the GPs are all wonderful.

Just like in all jobs and all industries - there are good and bad in all.

OhTheRoses

Absolutely, and that will come down to the surgery and how it is run.
We always ask if the patient has online access if we are unable to book for them. And if the online appointments haven't been used by the day then we use them for on the day booking in addition to the emergency slots. The only 'wasted' appointments we have are the very many people who do not bother to attend and do not phone to cancel!

I used to be one of those people who would rant about people not turning up for appointments. Then I had two years of being very ill. I had lots of appointments at the hospital and GPs and felt really awful nearly all the time. I missed some appointments because I would get confused. Either forget the appointments, or get confused about what day it was.

I think it takes about 2 or 3 minutes of badly recorded waffle at my surgery just to get in the queue to book an appt. The difference in voices, plus the clearly put on posh phone voice of one of them really annoys me.

I wish there was a way to register that you have heard all the waffle and let you skip it on future calls! The waffle says, "from October 2016 we will be implementing a new system...". I think they can stop calling it new now.

For everyone stating receptionists are not medically trained that's exactly why the Drs instruct us to ask why you need an emergency appt. We put a note next to your name outlining your "emergency" & the Drs decide who needs to be seen first.

Here's a typical day in a very busy surgery. No appt left on the day, Drs have put a note on our screens saying "only medical emergencies".

23yr old known drug addict needs appt as pharmacy refuses to give them their meds a day early. 72yr old woman short of breath & legs swollen. 6yr old sent home from school because they have a sore throat. 52yr old with piles. 25yr old with a bad cold. 66yr old with chest pains. 36yr old with chest pains. 20yr old needs morning after pill. 26yr old with a sore back. Baby breathing differently. 30yr old with bad anxiety.
If we just put their names & no explanation the Drs could leave one of the real emergencies waiting for far longer than they should. Surely this makes sense?

I'm just doing what my boss has instructed me to do. I.e the Dr your going to see.

As soon as Iv put the phone down I'm straight onto the next, I've forgotten you already.

I'm not saying that to be nasty or because I don't care. I'm saying it to make you understand we're not asking because we're nosy. We have literally heard it all.

Feet What people are saying is that not all surgeries have the same system. I have rung up and been told there are no emergency appointments and to ring tomorrow. There has been no chance for the receptionist to talk to the GP. I said calmly okay I will have to go to A and E then, and was given an appointment.
By the way it was not minor, I had an ongoing serious health problem, I knew I would be in and out in 3 minutes. I just needed medication that without it, I could end up in hospital in a few days. It was even written in my notes that I had to be given this medication immediately if x symptom appeared.

The one thing that makes me laugh is the recorded message when you're on hold, advising you to dial 999 for medical emergencies, see your dentist for dental issues and reminding people that the pharmacist is the best place for "minor alignments".

I think they mean ailments but you can never be sure...

Have you tried to see an emergency dentist? I developed an abscess over xmas one year, rang everywhere including the central number, and could not get seen for a week. I went to the GP for pain relief as I was crying with pain and could not sleep. I do know it is not the GPs issue, but seeing an emergency dentist can be like hunting for gold.

@marymarkle but the receptionist doesn't just decide there are no apps. The Drs will have instructed them to say that. Maybe all the Drs were busy. Some in surgery, some out at emergency house calls. The receptionist would have had to go & speak/grovel to Dr that the person on the phone really needs to be seen & the Dr will have had to agree. I know all surgeries are different but receptionists just do what they are told. We get it in the neck from patients then we get it in the neck from Drs. We literally can't please everybody.

I know she will have been doing what she was told, which is why I was calm and just said I will have to go to A and E then.
I was simply saying that surgeries do work differently.
And people being told there are no emergency appointments is very dangerous.

Since moving I’ve had some problems with receptionists, the ones at my doctors seem very bitchy to me, but that could just be the people they are and the profession that they’re in. I also don’t mind telling them why I’m coming to the doctors, and there’s always the option to say you’d rather not say

I have before now hand delivered a letter under the door at 7am (when I leave for work) apologising for not cancelling an apt the late afternoon before because the motorway was closed. I couldn't let them know two hours in advance because despite spending one hour and twenty minutes listening to canned music, they did not pick up the phone. And they have the cheek to put up notices and mark ny record with a dna notice. Not good enough.

I've had moans on here before about my GP's receptionists, but the last one I saw was lovely and gave me an appointment exactly when I wanted it and with who I wanted it with (it was a reasonable request, I wasn't asking for the moon on a stick), instead of the inflexibility I'd had previously.

@feetonthepoofy

So very true, it would be easier for us to just book everyone in, no questions asked and crack on with our job ten times quicker.. people think we are being deliberate obstructive and it’s simply not true. We tend to bend over backwards and convince the doctor to sometimes see people they wouldn’t.

However, I do think with call backs some receptionists could be a bit more accommodating for those who have to take a call at work.. say for example I tend to ask for a time slot between two times where the doctor can ring them and they can expect the call, they can prepare for it then and go somewhere.

For everyone stating receptionists are not medically trained that's exactly why the Drs instruct us to ask why you need an emergency appt. We put a note next to your name outlining your "emergency" & the Drs decide who needs to be seen first.
This explanation only applies if the receptionist records every name and reason for requesting an appointment and passes that to a dr.

At my surgery you phone up and ask for an appointment. If no appointments you get told "sorry none available." No " what's your name and symptoms?"

Does the dr then psychically tune in to the fact that I calked and the reason why?

A genuine question actually for any gp's/receptionists. We the scummy old patients are constantly exhorted not to waste the gp's time. Is there any understanding at all that some of us have no time to waste. Some of us leave the house at 7.15 and often return after 8 when your practices are closed.

Many of us are very very organised because we have to be yet the time I have to expend to get anything dealt with is ludicrous. Apts made at the other surgery, phone not ansered, prescriptions wrong or missing, bloods not complete, etc.

Nobody ever says sorry and we are supposed just to suck it up. This is why I don't think the nhs should be free at the point of delivery. I think it wpuld embed a bit of customer servicw.

A genuine question actually for any gp's/receptionists. We the scummy old patients are constantly exhorted not to waste the gp's time. Is there any understanding at all that some of us have no time to waste

Of course there is. Which is why at the surgery I work at we have an evening surgery every week and Saturday surgeries and an extended access hub where you can see a GP or nurse or mental health nurse or a physio.

Believe it or not, some practices really do think about these things and really do listen to patient feedback.

My GP receptionist told me "you can't be an emergency until after 2pm". By 1pm I was admitted to the high dependency unit of A&E and my sister got told off by the nurses for not taking me to the doctor earlier in the day.

I used to defend GP receptionists and understand there are pressures in the system. But sometimes they make mistakes which can be very dangerous.

OHthe roses GP surgeries are run as independent businesses. I have been a heavy user of the NHS and at my surgery I have no issues with those things. Change surgery.

And having to pay would not solve things. There are too many GP vacancies so some people do not have a surgery they can change to. They would still have to use a badly run surgery.

My surgery now is great generally, although everyone in the waiting room can hear what you say to the receptionists because it is so small. A newly built surgery nearby has been designed so this is not an issue.

I agree OP. Our surgery now have a couple of senior nurse practitioners who can deal with all kinds of stuff.

I went the other day with backpain and after being asked by the receptionist what the problem was got a same day app with the snp.

I wanted a physio referal and naproxen. No problem. It frees up a gp for other stuff. I had asked for a drs appointment and if the receptionist hadn’t asked that is what I would have been given. Seems a good way if best using resources to me.

I think the receptionists at my GP must have been sacked and went to work at the local chemist!

Every time au go in there, they wilfully misunderstand what I am saying and try to be obstructive. They start telling me I can't have X when I asked for Y. The chemist has to come out every time and calm things down and explain that what I want is perfectly reasonable.

I never get this anywhere else. Quite puzzling.

The receptionists and pharmacy at the GP are all helpful and very pleasant.

@weetabixandshreddies

‘Does the dr then psychically tune in to the fact that I calked and the reason why?’

In a word yes...

Say if a patient rings for a same day appointment and all the book on the day have gone and they feel it is urgent for that day we offer them a telephone consultation with the duty doctor who will then decide during the phonecall to call them down to surgery or not. Sometimes they will prescribe something over the phone or sometimes they will tell them to book a routine appointment or other times they do call them down. You get a mixed bag.

We take their details and a brief reason for the call and put it on the doctors call back list.

Sometimes there just genuinely isn't an appt. That's the honest truth. Literally hundreds of people call for an emergency appt every day. It's an impossible situation. Most of these calls could be dealt with at a pharmacy or by self care at home. These are the ones stopping the genuine emergencies being seen. People are aware it's not a real emergency but they feel it's their right to be seen then & there. Someone has to make that call. It's physically impossible for Drs to see every person that calls on the day for a medical emergency. Honestly, you would be really shocked at what some people think is an emergency. If there were less of the "non emergency" calls the people really in need would be seen sooner. People scream & shout until they are seen whilst the really genuinely ill poor soul is sitting quietly just praying the Dr calls them in soon because they feel like they are going to die. It's soul destroying.

The anger shouldn't be directed at receptionists. It should be with the time wasters & people who don't show up for apps.