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.

From a different perspective ...

Please remember, dear receptionists, that some of us do know what we need. I'm a doctor (not a GP). If I have something wrong, I want to speak to someone who knows more than I do about it - the GP.

I am very happy with a nurse / nurse practitioner appointment for some things, but if I need specific help or reassurance I need a GP appointment. Spending time arguing that I don't, or that 'they're just the same' is unhelpful, let alone untrue.

The receptionist I spoke to the other day was very helpful and was quite up on her knowledge about hand foot and mouth. She was very helpful. Never bothered me telling them what's up.

@doctorpatient the receptionist doesn't know this though. They will have been told certain issues can be dealt with by a nurse. You say your issue & they automatically say "oh our nurse can deal with that". Some patients don't realise this. In most cases this is fine, patients are happy to see the nurse. Others still want to see the Dr. It's not personal, it's a script we use for everyone regardless. The receptionist was wrong to argue about it.

Had to phone GP yesterday for an appt. Didn't have an issue telling whats wrong. Got an appt in an hour. Lovely receptionist. Saw Advanced Nurse Practitioner who was fab.

Like many PPs have said, so much depends on the surgery set up and the receptionist in question.

In my current surgery, the receptionists are brilliant. Yes, we get the phone message by a GP that we'll be asked to give a "general idea" of what the appointment is for, and they do sometimes ask, but they're really only after the general idea. They're happy enough for me to say "mental health" and not grill for details. Also the waiting room is separate from receptionists' area, and the receptionists dont' repeat people's details over the phone for others to hear. They also actually seem to want to help, and will attempt to sort anything out that they possibly can.

In my previous GP's the waiting area was 6 feet from the reception desk, so any conversation there is heard by all. I listened in on lots of examples of "Hello? Mrs Jones? Is that Alice? Oh a GP? What's it for? Okay. Well if it's just the water infection again, how about the nurse practitioner?" It doesn't really make you want to give information over the phone, either. The general attitude in there was also much more of "prove to me you're worthy of an appointment", rather than trying to help.

Mine are awful lots of times they've refused me appointments over my asthma when I needed steroids etc and I've ended up having to go to the doctors in a+e for them. I've phoned up saying I have asthma and my breathing is pretty bad at the moment they just say 'sorry we haven't got any appointments left try phoning again tomorrow morning' how can they be allowed to do that when someone is struggling to breathe?

@TheWickerWoman

That wasn't what I said. Our receptionist doesn't ask for the patient's name nor the reason why you are phoning if there are no appointments available.

How can the GP possibly decide who to call back if they don't know that you've phoned?

I was explaining how it works for us weetabix.. trying to give some general information.

No’one can actually answer your question on mumsnet, only the powers that be at your surgery can. Why not suggest it to them, they might change their procedures.

namechangechanger leave a review about that on Care Opinion (its anonymous). And link in Asthma UK "as per the advice given by Asthma UK". The practice manager will leave you a response and be sure to tell her it is a life threatening condition and perhaps her receptionists need some additional training.

Care Opinion has been useful to me - even if its to say "thanks to the Doctor in A&E who saw me at 4pm today" or a complaint about a receptionist.... Use it! 😊

If some receptionists don't like people (the type of huff down the phone before you've even said hello) then they shouldn't even be in a public facing job where they deal with vulnerable people on a daily basis.

Feetonthepoofy

I understand there are pressures and difficulties. I understand that a lot of people want emergency appointments when they aren't needed. However, I told the receptionist that I was struggling to breathe and hadn't been able to swallow water for over 24hours due to tonsillitis (which I get regularly but never so severe). Both of those things should have been red flags to someone who is giving advice.

I only went to A&E because my sister was with me and insisted. Had I been alone I'd have waited (like I was told to do) and that could have been catastrophic.

My (personal) anger wasn't particularly directed at anyone - I certainly wouldn't get aggressive or abusive. However, I do think the receptionist was at fault for not at least pointing out that there was a place that does drop-in appointments less than 2 miles away (I found that out after the A&E people told DSis).

When I phoned up requiring stronger pain relief than the ibuprofen hospital gave me post c-section () I didn’t mind telling the receptionist. When I phoned up needing an appointment a couple of years ago because I hadn’t slept in days, had severe PTSD and thought I was going to kill myself- no, I didn’t really fancy discussing that with a receptionist.

Some things are innately private and difficult enough to tell the GP, let alone the receptionist.

I worked as a receptionist at a surgery for six months. I was not interested that you had a problem with your head or your arse but that was the question I had been told to ask by the GPS. The reason why receptionists have no medical training is so they can be paid poorly. I was paid what was effectively minimum wage. I was paid from 0830-1330 but expected to be in at 0815 but not paid for that time and rarely left before 1345.

Yes it is difficult to get an appointment but the person you are usually complaining to, shouting out or swearing at is not responsible for the
Appointment system.

Feetonthepoofy I think you are feeling a little defensive as you are not understanding that not all receptionists are like you and wickerlady.

Some of the receptionists being mentioned here are just not suited to the type of "customer" they have to deal with - it is not for everyone and it's not right or wrong, just different skills.

But some should never be allowed near a patient in their lives, and can be actively dangerous (by dismissing patient requests or trying to deny them appts; or simply by overreaching their knowledge).

CallMeSirShotsFired there is also a lot of sentiment on MN that ALL GP receptionists are battleaxe jobsworths whose sole purpose in life is to block access to a GP and then bitch about you in front of a waiting room full of patients. I'm not a receptionist but I work in a GP practice.

Mine are decent. I had to take DS for an emergency gp appt this week. They had to ask what the problem was to ensure he was seen as quickly as possible - he was, within the hour. I would t expect to be asked the nature of the appt for a regular one, but for an emergency one it’s different.

We have two at our surgery, 1 is delightful, patient and calm. The other is every stereotype going about GP receptionists and is the reason I ended up in A&E with severely infected stitches as she refused to book me an appointment over the course of two weeks as my symptoms of infection got steadily worse. I have seen the way she speaks to other member of staff too. Just awful.

a lot of sentiment on MN that ALL GP receptionists are battleaxe jobsworths

I guess like with everything in life we remember the standout bad experiences; while the thousand good ones just pass by unnoticed.

Mine at the practice we are at are lovely. I’ve had crap ones previously, and with 4 kids and health issues myself we use the gp regularly.

Never had to give an explanation of what my appointment is for except for emergency appointments for my son who is asthmatic and is always seen ASAP they are very good.

My mum is one and the way she is spoken to on an almost daily basis really angers me.

I’ve witnessed it myself as I’ve been there waiting for her to finish work.

Some people are far too entitled and think they can speak to people like crap sadly.

My mum, for one, is just trying to do her job as dictated by the practice. Trust me, she really doesn’t want to hear about your piles or discharge from various orifices for fun

My constant complaint of Doctorow receptionists is their poor attitude and terrible customer service skills. Because they don’t need to be polite to attract “customers” I suppose. I am sick to death of standing at reception for 5 minutes waiting for 2 of them to finish their conversation without even a polite “sorry, I’ll be with you in just a minute”. It’s so damn rude. I used to work for a very sub standard pub gain, and we wouldn’t dream of treating customers the way they do.

I hear you, mary

@TitusP

Did you talk to the doctors at your surgery about her refusal to book an appointment?

Most GPs I know would be appalled if harm came to a patient because a receptionist was being obstructive.

What's the point of telling the receptionist when the first thing the Dr says is "what can i do for You"

There is no privacy in reception or the pharmacist so I don't want to discuss my medical inquiry where it can be heard by everyone. They've just rebuilt and merged our Drs. Bigger wait ing room so more people get to hear all your details