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.

STOP BEING ANGRY WITH WITH YOUR CUSTOMERS!!!!!!

The NHS is not a free service. We pay for it with our taxes. Any other business who’s customers were screaming about how the service does not work for them would have to pull its self up the bootstraps and bloody listen

The reason that receptionist are screening calls is not because of “difficult customers” it’s because the NHS does not have enough gps.

I used to be a gp receptionist and it is a stressful job.When taking calls I used to make it clear that I wasn't being nosey but i would need a brief outline of the problem to put with the right medical professional,most people were ok with this (some overshared!) If a patient came into the surgery they were given the option to write it on a piece of paper if didn't want to be overheard,which I then shredded after made the relevant appointment.

@privateeyefan - I wonder if you're actually accepting any of the feedback on this forum? I wonder if you've consulted your patients at all? You do realise you only have a job because of them

(I am a senior NHS professional, by the way, I know how underfunding works)

I'm surprised that so many people on MN haven't dropped down dead seeing as they are not able to get GP appointments at all because of the awful receptionists that sit behind the glass waiting to listen to everyone's most personal stories!

Start with not wasting GP time making phone calls prior to EVERY appointment. Sheesh, that is just stupid.

The GP will ring back for a consultation. If they need to see you they bring you in, if not they deal with it over the phone. I've had a few phone consults over the years, usually when I need antibiotics for UTIs. The GP prescribes a course but also tells me to bring in a sample to make sure she's given me the correct type. I get them delivered home the same day.
Just out of interest, how many people actually turn up at the surgery to book an appointment? I can't remember the last time I did this. I also use the pharmacist if it's something like conjunctivitis, which I had last week and the pharmacist in Asda sold me antibiotic eye drops. No need for a GP appointment.

How do you sign up for online OP? I was at my GPs for an appt and the receptionist asked if I'd like to sign up for online booking. When I said yes I was told I'd have to come back to the surgery on another day with proof of id. Despite the fact that they were clearly accepting who I said I was when I turned up for my appt. Doing that would have meant taking annual leave to visit the surgery during working hours so I haven't done it.

Pointless suggesting reporting breaches of confidentiality to the practice manager if that is the person doing it. I called in to the surgery to pick up the results of a pregnancy test to be told it was negative and just as well as I was too old to have a baby. (This was a few months after having had my first child).

The medical profession do seem to fail to understand that a gap of a couple of feet or a hospital curtain isn't sufficient to prevent conversations being overheard. Our GP reception has a line to stand behind while waiting to book in and the radio on but everyone in the seating area still knows who you are and whatever info you give the receptionist. Might be ok in a city practice where you are relatively anonymous but less so in a rural practice where you often see people you know in the practice.

You do realise you only have a job because of them

🤣🤣🤣🤣
Do YOU realise the stress GPs are under? Do YOU realise that you get free medical care because of the NHS? As a supposed senior healthcare professional, do YOU realise what a stupid comment you have made?

Do YOU realise the stress GPs are under?

Their salary is very good as well.

Do YOU realise that you get free medical care because of the NHS

It's not free.

You do realise NHS treatment isn’t free? We all pay for it. And of course health professionals only have jobs because there are patients. Just because a service is free at the point of delivery, it doesn’t mean its consumers can be treated exactly as its provider wishes, just because it’s more convenient.

Its not a stupid comment at all, its completely accurate.

Do you realise how much stress people in general are under and how awful it is to be reduced to tears by trying to get a rare GP appointment when you are feeling awful and simultaneously truing to get your children to school and yourself to work?

@soontobe60 - my Dad did die soon after not being given an urgent appointment (for pneumonia), nor a telephone consultation for an antibiotics request.

This thread has been revealing about the role the receptionist may have played.

OP, it might be interesting for you to start asking your patients why they dont comply with your system

Why dont they give the receptionist details of the condition they want medical help with
Why dont they sign up and use the online system

You clearly have a system that isnt working properly, maybe treat it like a medical condition. Elucidate the symptoms, ask the patients how they are feeling, what they are doing to cope, come up with a hypothesis of what the problem/disease is and then treat it. ie make some changes

You cant just sit there and say its all their fault, they not all doing what we want them to do, its on you to adjust to your patient populations needs and create systems that work for them. And respectfully, if you are on MN moaning about how they wont give details of their illness or use the online system, clearly there is a problem with your system.

I find this contradictory to what we're allowed to do in A&E. Although patients are asked for a brief explanation as to why they've come in, our reception staff are not allowed to triage in any way. All patients then see a triage nurse who has to be of a certain level before they are prioritised. I find it odd that in primary care settings receptionists can prioritise patients which can really open a gp surgery up to legal cases.

Receptionists can identify when a nurse would be better than gp but we've had receptionists tell patients to come to a&e when they didn't need to so I really do question the receptionists' abilities to front door triage.

privateeyefan

From what you have posted you don't even seem to fully triage the patients.

You have said that select on your own specialisms
Who goes through your forms and actually makes sure that everyone is contacted.

And more importantly what about those that cannot take calls at anytime during the day?

You can by all means ring me twice a hour apart but I still cannot get to the phone.

Its no wonder that so many people have given up with GPs and go to A&E or minor injuries.

I moved around a lot and of the six GPs I have been registered with, only one had competent receptionists. This system can work if the receptionists are actually able to do their job, e.g. close the cubicle they are in so they can talk privately on the phone, are good with people, don't try to replace the GP or prevent you from accessing health care.

With the remaining five GPs, the receptionists, without exception, tried to get rid of us rather than provide any medical care. Was especially fun when I could barely breath for 3 weeks straight and they still told me "oh, it is just a cold, go home, stay in bed and have some tea". It took several courses of antibiotics and 1.5 year to get rid of what had eventually developed into a chronic bronchitis.

Oh, the bronchitis was diagnosed after I threatened the receptionist with legal action and she finally booked me in. Switched GPs afterwards.

I am so, so glad that I am not your patient. My wonderful GP recently diagnosed my (often missed) Inflammatory Breast Cancer; the day I woke up with symptoms I was able to phone the surgery and get an appointment within four hours. I did not have to describe my symptoms to a receptionist, I discussed them with my medical professional and was admitted to hospital that afternoon. I am in Australia so my consultation was covered by Medicare, the NHS equivalent. I also don't have to suffer doctors justifying a system that is screwed.

. Was especially fun when I could barely breath for 3 weeks straight and they still told me "oh, it is just a cold, go home, stay in bed and have some tea

It's a very common behaviour, yet some would claim GPs have a very stressful job.

My surgery trialled this system. I didn’t need to make an appointment which is lucky as I’m a teacher and we’re not allowed our phones out, to answer a call would be impossible. What provision is made for people who can’t take a call back. Genuinely interested!

You do realise NHS treatment isn’t free? We all pay for it. And of course health professionals only have jobs because there are patients. Just because a service is free at the point of delivery, it doesn’t mean its consumers can be treated exactly as its provider wishes, just because it’s more convenient.

No, we don't all pay for it. Only people in employment pay. More of the population don't pay than do. And we certainly don't pay the true cost of the service. My father worked at a low paid job all his life until retirement at 65. He paid his way in tax and NI. But he had an AAA and ended up having major surgery, a week in intensive care, six weeks in HDU and a further 12 weeks in hospital. He then had another stint for a month for elective surgery linked to the AAA. He finally spent his last week in hospital having got a blocked bowel. His GP was fantastic from start to finish. The cost of this care probably exceeded his contributions ten fold plus.
There are faults in the NHS system, but they are not as prevalent as people on here would indicate. Try living in the USA paying exorbitant health insurance or getting no care if you're poor. Try living in other countries where the health care systems are practically non existent. Instead of moaning about having to explain to a receptionist why you might need to see a GP, think about how we can better fund the NHS so that we can get an appointment sooner, or have building work put in place in surgeries to give more privacy, or any other necessary improvements.

I haven’t read the whole thread, but IF the triage is working, it could be an idea.

Our three children came down with a bad infection with the youngest having a temperature of 105.3F, never seen anything like it. We couldn’t get it down to more than 104 with calpol and neurofen and we ended up taking her to an out of hours doctor. We were told, if the temperature doesn’t come down in 48 hours, take her to your GP.

When I tried to get an appointment I was told to go to A&E as there were no appointments that day. I called 111, they said she needed to be seen ASAP, but could not arrange out of hours GP as our GP surgery was open. They then called our GP surgery, but were told no appointments. I was then told I needed to go to A&E which I did.

I spent 5 hours in the waiting room with three children of temperatures between 103.5 and 105.1 before having our youngest assessed again and being cleared to go home. Everyone agreed it was not a case for the A&E, everyone agreed my DD needed to be assessed by a doctor due to persistent high temperature and the only way to get seen was to go to the A&E.

I think the system is broken in many places. If triage prevents situations like this to happen, I am all for it

Its no wonder that so many people have given up with GPs and go to A&E or minor injuries.

Exactly this. Exactly what the GPs say they are trying to prevent. I cynicaly wonder if that is really the case. Are they so over loaded and under resourced (why? when they are run as private businesses?) that it is now tacit policy to funnel patients towards out of hours care or A&E?.

Certainly where I live it is now SO FUCKING HARD to get a GPS appointment if you work that most people have given up and just go to the Saturday overflow walk in clinic at the small local hospital (no A&E) where they either give you a prescription for antibiotics or send you to A&E for an xray, as that is the only place for miles and miles and miles that will do xrays, or see children for minor injuries. Fuck knows what happens to working people who want contraception/an abortion/help for depression/addiction.

My surgery trialled this system. I didn’t need to make an appointment which is lucky as I’m a teacher and we’re not allowed our phones out, to answer a call would be impossible. What provision is made for people who can’t take a call back. Genuinely interested!
Surely if you are unwell enough to need an urgent appointment you're unwell enough to be in work? I'm a teacher too. When I've waited for a call back, I've explained to my Head that I need my phone on silent and to be able to answer a call from the GP. They've been happy for this as at least I'm inschool and not phoning in sick. Any employer should understand this.

Lots of employees, including but not limited to, Nursery workers, people who work on the shop floor, factory workers, lawyers in court, court clerks, college students in lessons and many teachers arent allowed their phones on them while working.

Of course we pay the true cost of the service. Where do you think the money comes from - the NHS fairies bring it? I’ve paid tax for nearly 50 years, I very rarely use the NHS, I’m lucky enough to be ill very rarely. So I’ve probably paid in a lot more than I’ve taken out. Don’t care @Soontobe60, your dad’s welcome to the care I’ve paid for, it’s still bloody paid for by someone.

@Soontobe60 that's rubbish. Dh went to his gp twice in a month. One issue resulted in being put on the 2 week urgent cancer pathway and the other saw him referred to a specialist for surgery. He's been working throughout. He definitely needed the gp appointments but is able to work (until after surgery when he will need recovery time).

I'm surprised that so many people on MN haven't dropped down dead seeing as they are not able to get GP appointments at all because of the awful receptionists that sit behind the glass waiting to listen to everyone's most personal stories!

I haven't dropped down dead because I have signed up with a private GP, not because of the loving care I receive I my local NHS practice.