To let you know that you're not doing yourself any favours by refusing to tell the GP receptionist your symptoms?

[privateeyefan]

I'm a GP. My surgery operate a triage system - if you ring up or walk in asking for an appointment, then you get put on the triage list, and get a phone call from the doctor that same day, who can then make an appointment for you if you need one.

When patients ring up or walk in, the receptionists who speak to them will ask for a brief outline of the problem. This means that, as we usually have at least 3 doctors doing triage at any one time, we can prioritise the calls - if if see things that I know will need an appointment, then I will call those patients first so that I can get them into the surgery on the same day, often within the hour.

If you refuse to tell the receptionist what the problem is, and there is therefore nothing next to your name on the triage list, then I leave you until last. I'm not going to prioritise you over people I know will have to be seen, when I have no idea whether or not you will need an appointment. Therefore, if you don't tell the receptionist, your chances of a same-day appointment decrease substantially, and you will also have last choice of appointments over the next few days - the most convenient times after working hours will be long gone.

In addition, I, like most of my colleagues, have a special interest in a certain field. As I glance through the triage list, I generally pick out patients whose problem relates to my particular field of expertise, as do my colleagues. By refusing to give even the briefest of outlines, you rule out the chance that the GP with the most relevant experience will contact you directly.

Receptionists don't have medical training. Of course not. But that doesn't make them incapable of typing a one line summary of your problem dictated by you, in order to help the doctors do their job.

And please also remember - they speak to hundreds of patients daily. Your problem will occupy their mind for a few seconds, and then they will move on to the next patient and you will be swiftly forgotten.

*@privateeyefan. Bloody hell. You sound like a tick box doctor. And op - you Dont sound any better ...maybe time to think about a new job

Privateeyefan IS the OP, isn't she?

@OrdinarySnowflake People probably can’t get through on the phone because of too many people walking up. It’s a proper catch 22.

Our doctors' surgery is so busy that you simply cannot get through on the telephone for at least an hour after they open every day. You are put on hold endlessly, or have to keep on and on trying. By the time you eventually get through, all the emergency appointments for the day have been allocated.

So if we need one, we now go to the surgery in person as soon as they open. There used to be a long desk with the receptionists sitting behind it, and you could lean over a bit and whisper if you had a particularly private or embarassing thing to discuss. They have now installed a large glass partition which the receptionists sit behind, and you have to speak through it. The downside to that is that it has made the entire reception and waiting area into a giant auditorium and you can hear every single word that the patient is saying. The sound of your voice is literally amplified by bouncing off this glass partition and into the waiting area.

If I want to make an appointment I call the surgery as the reception area is open and everyone is a meter away from it.

Our receptionists do not book GP appointments. Ever

Aye? No wonder you can't keep hold of your receptionists you are not allowing them to do their jobs and micromanaging them. Let them
book appts for patients and you'll have happy patients and happy receptionists...probably

Also I worry about my DDs future who has a social communication disorder and would clearly be unreasonable in your eyes for not being ABLE to describe to the receptionist her problems

As I’ve said several times, we have had online access for two years, which allows patients to book themselves directly onto the triage list and type a reason for the doctor to look at. They don’t need to speak to anyone. Would this work for your daughter?

The majority of our patients, have chosen not to register for this, despite us pushing it at every opportunity.

lol, I wish I were able to get through on the phone during work hours so I had this problem

if people are able to give the receptionist the briefest outline of the problem, then they can be prioritised

The OP doesn't seem to accept in the slightest that this means that people who are unable to outline the problem are treated less favourably.

Which is clear disability discrimination, as well as unlikely to offer the best medical care to vulnerable patients.

Aye? No wonder you can't keep hold of your receptionists you are not allowing them to do their jobs and micromanaging them. Let them
book appts for patients and you'll have happy patients and happy receptionists...probably

People on this thread have made it quite clear that they don’t want receptionists triaging patients, and telling them whether or not they can have an appointment.

Allowing receptionists to book GP appointments necessitates receptionists triaging patients. You can’t have it both ways.

OP, it sounds to me like a great system. Could I make a suggestion based on my own personal experience, of how you might want to instruct your receptionists to present themselves to the patients....

Here in Los Angeles where I live, I do intake triage for a monthly event where lawyers come into the LA Law Library and do free volunteer mini-consultations with the general public helping them with a variety of legal issues. We see 100+ people in about a 3 hour time period. I have been doing the intake for several years now and have learned that the public (many of whom do not speak english, are homeless and/or mentally ill and most of whom are desperate) are far more willing to let me triage them if I begin the conversation with "I am not a lawyer and know nothing about law, but I need you to give me a little summary of why you are here, so that I can make sure that I send you to the best lawyer for the type of legal issue that you have." If the summary is in any way too complicated for me, I tell them that I need them to repeat the summary to someone who has a better expertise in law than I do. In addition, I am always sympathetic to their expressed needs even if clearly what they need is a social worker (we do have some who volunteer as well) and not a lawyer. And although sometimes I will divert someone to the social workers, I will always do it by saying..."I have someone here who may be able to help you figure out exactly what type of legal issue you have and therefore which lawyer will be most helpful to you."
So, in summary, the receptionist may not have the experience to know that they have to make clear to the patients each and every time that they are simply writing down some basic facts and not making any decisions themselves. And you may need to train the receptionist to do this. I understand that you have explained this to patients when they registered with the practice, but not everyone pays attention and if you are ill, perhaps it just has flown out of your mind.
Also, I wonder why your online system isn't being used...have you double-checked that it's functioning properly? Maybe do an informal poll of your patients to ask why they aren't using it.

When I was pregnant. I called to set up a midwife appointment. My GP receptionist told me in front of the entire waiting room that I probably wouldn't get a 12 week scan and there was no point booking me in because if I had a miscarriage it would be a waste of their time..... I didn't see a midwife until I was 12 weeks pregnant. She was furious and scrabbled to get me a scan appointment within that week......There was a family medical history as to why that scan was important. Receptionist had no idea.

You sound really angry at patients. >> Agreed.

I know several GPs - through work and personally - who detest their patients. It makes you wonder why they ever went into medicine.

Presumably all receptionists working in a triage system GP surgery will be medically trained then (a qualified nurse)? Because if I presented at A&E I would be seen by a NURSE in triage. who would assess my symptoms and pass that information on to the doctor.

If I want a same day appointment I don't mind giving a reason. I expect appointments at the last minute to be justified and prioritised.

I made an appointment (1 week wait) and was asked why I wanted it. I didn't tell them. There was no need, it was a routine appointment- and tbh if I'd started to talk about it I'd have been in tears as no doubt I will be at the appointment.

Presumably all receptionists working in a triage system GP surgery will be medically trained then (a qualified nurse)? Because if I presented at A&E I would be seen by a NURSE in triage. who would assess my symptoms and pass that information on to the doctor.

RTFT. The receptionists don’t triage. They simply put people on the list for the doctors to triage.

I know several GPs - through work and personally - who detest their patients. It makes you wonder why they ever went into medicine. hmm

At my old practice, if you said you didn't mind what GP you saw, GUARANTEED you would be allocated to Dr X. Every fucking time. Like clockwork. Dr X's appointment schedule seemed to be a barren wilderness compared to every other GP in the practice.

There was a reason for that. General Practice's gain was Pathology's loss.

FFS @Yaflamingalah The OP has said OVER AND OVER that her receptionists don't triage, the doctor does. All the receptionists do is ask the question, write down the answer and pass it to the doctor.

You sound really angry at patients

I’m not angry at patients. I was annoyed at someone on this thread who hadn’t read my post and then proceeded to lecture me about it while misunderstanding it entirely. They also failed to understand the meaning of a doctor having a ‘special interest.’ That’s why I told them to ‘get a grip’.

That poster is not my patient. My being annoyed at them does not translate to anger with patients.

privateeyefan

Your surgery is caught in the same situation as many others where it is not possible to meet patient demand for appointments on that day.

It sounds as if you are trying to deal with this by having GPs triage requests, yet those who do not get an appointment will always be unhappy.

What do you think is the long term solution to this problem? It isn't your fault we have come to this in the UK, but longer term solutions have to be found. GPs might be better to point patients in the direction of those who control the purse strings, rather than fire fighting quietly.

Some posters in Ireland have mentioned they have no problem getting an appointment. They are often expected to pay 50 or 60 Euros for this privilege unless for children under the age of 6 years. I am certain it will come to us in the UK sooner or later as we already have healthcare rationing.

Our UK govt pledged to have more GPs, but has ended up with less due to pension issues and the fact that so many GPs cannot deal with full-time work due to burn out and other pressures of the job.

Many of us have issues with GP services locally. Mine is that my GP fobbed me off and refused referral for a Hip Replacement, in spite of being of working age and being hardly able to walk. Having read all the bumpf on our local CCG website it has been classed as having low clinical priority. It seems as if GPs are going along with this, rather than challenging this position.

In my case I saw a private surgeon who said I had gross OA in my hip and agreed to operate. The results have given me my life back and will hopefully enable me to work for a few more years. Yes it cost money but if this is how it has to be, then clinicians need to be honest with patients about the underlying agenda.

Point people in the direction of their local MP and CCG if they are not happy. I work as a nurse in a surgery and we get many distressed disabled patients coming about the roll out of universal credit. I always give them the contact details for the local MP and many have received support that they did not expect to fight claims. Politicians need to understand the impact of their policies on the ordinary person in the street.

Finally, I guess you are trying to do a good job in a situation which is less than ideal, good luck to you and your colleagues!

I think no system is ever going to be perfect, but this works as well as any for the most part. A few months ago my uncle called me to say my aunt was unwell. By the time he called the GP it was 10am. The GP receptionist took a note that he thought my aunt had a chest infection and was concerned given that she's immunosuppressed. He had a callback within 10mins, and was advised to bring her straight to hospital. Turned out she was massively septic- intubated, 3 weeks in ICU, dialysis, the lot.

Had that GP worked on a first come first served basis rather than something similar to the OP, then my aunt would've been dead before the call back ever happened.

So yes, for urgent things I think it's very useful to let the doctors know. For routine appointments I don't see the need, but that's not what is being discussed here.

Are you sure you're in the right job OP - working with people I mean? Countless posters have given some awful examples of their confidentiality being compromised or credibly explained why they find it impossible to share their medical details with a receptionist but you dismiss it all because of 'your system'. Very little empathy in your posts.
I get that it's frustrating being a GP but if you can't actually listen to people with alternate views and demonstrate some understanding....?? Just a thought.

May I just add, that despite my complaint earlier in the thread, that I do really very much appreciate how fantastic my surgery are, they have never let me down. The two "other" receptionists are absolutely wonderful and have gone above and beyond. I don't abuse my service, indeed I am a fairly rare patient (until recently, because I have a hideous ongoing menopause condition) and indeed when I have absolutely needed to be seen, I have been, without question.

OP, you are going to find your profession open to some critcism by virtue of your post and I understand your position entirely, but it really isn't the same for everybody and anybody who has had a horrible receptionist experience is going to be reluctant. I would suggest that there is more training, more supervision...because there are too many horror stories.

There is a difference between giving symptoms and telling the receptionist why you want to see the doctor. The former should involve, for example in the case of asthma, significant increase in difficulties breathing, waking several times during the night to use inhaler, lips turning blue while the latter might be I want the doctor to give me a better inhaler Perhaps the OP needs to explain this better to her receptionist and/or a little diagram sheet in the reception area with examples.

In addition, I, like most of my colleagues, have a special interest in a certain field. As I glance through the triage list, I generally pick out patients whose problem relates to my particular field of expertise

You have no medical training and therefore your ‘special interest’ and ‘expertise’ is irrelevant.

there is therefore nothing next to your name on the triage list, then I leave you until last
Could be anything from mental health to a suspected heart attack. People don’t want to tell someone unqualified what their problems are and should not be penalised for that.

Surely it should be a first come first serve bases unless you know for definite they need an urgent appointment?

The comment that the majority of patients haven't made the effort to sign up for online access service, how many of these patients are elderly & may not have a computer or smartphone, or even if they have one, don't have the computer knowledge to be able to use an online system?