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.

Jemima232

I saw my GP a few months ago with severe depression. She was wonderful and really helped me. She told me to come back if I needed to or if things got worse.

Things got worse. One morning I felt so bad that I considered taking my own life.

Phoned the surgery. Practice Manager answered. I explained (in tears) what was wrong. She told me that there wasn't an appointment for a week. I asked for a phone appointment.

No. We're too busy. You can ring back in a few days if you're still suicidal.

I’m sorry you went through this. I’ve been there. In this instance your GP was at fault for not providing you with the contact details for the local crisis team so that you could receive support at any time day or night, GPs aren’t an emergency or crisis service and wouldn’t be faulted if a patient who was suicidal couldn’t get in to see them as long as they had made sure the patient knew who to contact if they felt that low. I just had to wait three weeks for a prebooked appointment rather than the ring on the day ones which is pretty good going around here, I don’t know of many GPs these days who are able to offer everyone same day appointments no matter what their problem is that requires attention.

WishMyNameWasWittyNotShitty I hope you see this. I’m only up to reading page six, but you don’t have to wait to see your GP to access talking therapy for PND. Just google your local IAPT team and ring to self refer and mention your baby is under a year old, you’ll be expedited for an assessment ASAP and skip the waiting list under NHS guidelines. You should still keep the GP appt to discuss medications but in the meantime you could have already had several sessions of therapy.

power shower you've quoted me, but did you actually read my post? The first lady was a cow, nearly killed my brother and ended up in prison. Those were my reasons for not telling her. The other is my close friend who is lovely, but I dont want to give medical details to.

Don't quote people without context, or do you write for the daily fail

I’m just saying that behind the refusal are people who may have very legitimate reasons for not wanting to say. I know the receptionist couldn’t care less but it’s not always that straightforward for the patient.

This. I found myself blurting out some very embarrassing vaginal symptoms in front of queue.

Another time receptionist snapped “well I’ve never heard of it” when I asked for an appointment for my dc with a rare genetic disorder.

If it’s genuinely triage, give your patient some privacy.

The problem is these nosy, do-gooder receptionist put people off seeking treatment incase they're accused of being silly or overreacting which could lead to something serious.

Also as people have mentioned, we're all entitled to some form of patient confidentiality and I'm sure having to discuss your medic problems in the waiting room/receptuon area is not a suitable place to do this.

I don't expect doctors' receptionists are any better or worse than anyone else working in a customer service job, but as the system in a lot of GPs is set up (intentionally or not) to deny patients what they've come in for, it probably is both very stressful and plays to the less pleasant parts of people's personalities. Plus gentle caring types probably resign.

If you put the guys at KwikFit in the same scenario they probably wouldn't be very nice either. But I guess the branch's profits would go down and they'd get sacked.

My doctor's receptionists are perfectly nice by the way, but as I said up thread I switched to the practice as it had a good reputation.

Our GP practice have a message at the beginning of the phone call from one of the GP's saying that the Dr's have asked the Receptionist's to find out what is wrong so they know how to book etc.
I thought it was a really great message but then I'm pretty sensible!! 😂

I once was treated very badly when i tried to make an appointment with a doctor (for my small child not me) and was given one with the nurse. The receptionist was very cross and argued when I insisted on a doctor. I am quite forceful, not everyone is, and they will avoid the confrontation and do what they are told.
The NHS is broke, and it is a crisis so I understand trying to cut costs, but I also agree that there is SO much wastage and bad management in other areas.
I dont want to see patients bullied and victimised- and it will be the especially vulnerable who will be in this ststem.

@OhTheRoses you have noooooo idea.

Manages its resources 😂 what resources??

The NHS runs mainly on the goodwill of the people who work within it .

You need to thank your lucky stars its still here for a bit longer... trust me it wont be long before we are paying for treatment like America.

@Yawninfinitum
It’s a bloody tough job
As are many other NHS Jobs that doesn’t give you the right to put down patients with genuine concerns.
I’m fed up with really well paid GP’s who pass on loads of their clinical work to other members of the community health team to attend “commissioning meetings” in which they tailor the service to maximise their personal profits.
Lots of GP’s decide not to stay working in hospitals because they can earn more without the intense hard academic work of specialising plus they work much less hours.

@Ghanagirl

You post is so factually incorrect and loaded with offensive nonsense that I’m not going to respond to its points specifically.

If you don’t know what you are actually commenting on then maybe don’t bother

My GP’s doesn’t operate like this at all and I’m glad!! It’s just a first come first served basis.

With ours if it’s urgent you can go in at 8am and get a ticket and you’ll be seen that day. Otherwise you ring at 9am when the surgery opens (132 redials was my record of trying to get through).

However for the last couple of years they have moved online as well, so now I can book online and appointments of up to a month away are available. And I can pop a note on my appointment for the Dr to see, so they know why I’m coming in, without having to discuss or be heard by anyone else. I always use this system now to book my appointments.

When you arrive at the surgery now you also don’t have to check in with the receptionist, you check yourself in on the computer screen (much better as less queues!).

I would HATE to have to explain to our receptionist what issue I am seeing the Dr about. Not because I’m bothered about them knowing, but as others have said, because our reception is in an open plan area with thick plastic screening, meaning you’d have to speak quite loudly to describe your issue. There’s no privacy. And yes you could write it down, if you trusted the receptionist to bin that piece of paper straight away and not leave it lying about for the next in the queue to see.

Also you have to call at 9am to get an appointment for the same day (and if you call after 9:30am you’ve got no chance). So people have a very small window of opportunity to call and many of those people have just arrived at work and therefore would have to call from work, where they may struggle to get the privacy to describe their reasons/symptoms.

I can see why this system is practical for you as a GP, however you need to understand that it isn’t always practical or nice for your patients.

The triage system is the worst thing to happen to modern medicine. I have literally had to fight for a face to face appointment with a doctor with a receptionist, who suddenly gained a medical degree in her lunch break. The amount of people that go undiagnosed for serious conditions must have risen and honestly, as most things are about money, I don't get the effectiveness of hiring whole call centres worth of people, over a couple of receptionists who are able to build a rapport and don't mind telling them you have an unusual rash as they are not a complete stranger. It simply does not work.

I doubt the op is still reading, but what strikes me most is the arrogance of assuming that if a system you have designed doesn't work as planned, it must be the idiot users at fault. That's everything wrong with certain doctors summed up right there.

I do not think the receptionists who have no medical training and can be of very variable quality regarding ability and level of prejudice should be making medical triaging decisions.

I had a serious eye infection and, when asked, I told the rceptionist this. She made me an appointment with a paramedic who could not prescribe and I could not see a doctor in the near future because she had wasted my opportunity to see a medical practitioner as I was then at the bottom of the list.

The eye infection lasted another week and got much worse. It could have been even worse than it was and a pharmacist I saw in the meantime was astonished that no one would see me at the GP's surgery.

I do not accept the NHS doesn't have money. It receives billions and has received real terms increases for years. It may not be enough money for what it is called on to do, but that is a different problem.

Is it not abundantly clear from this thread that anyone who can possibly afford to (and who needs to keep their job) is avoiding using it anyway? If you tot up what many people are spending on dentist, optician, physio, private health insurance, mental health care such as counselling, prescriptions etc you would quickly see that people are having to cover a lot of health expenditure privately whether or not they formally use 'private healthcare'.

I ended up paying for quite a lot of my own antenatal care because of the stupid and frankly dangerous way the service was set up - I'd have probably lost my job if I'd actually did it the way the NHS proposed.

All I want is polite and reasonably prompt service on the rare occasion I use the GP (plus that they have a quick glance at my records) and I don't think that's an unreasonable ask in one of the world's richest countries.

If course OP is nit reading anymore.

They came, they lectured, they buggered off when faced with unhappy patients.

GPs need to up their game and employ a higher standard of receptionist and pay them accordingly. A friendly yet professional, sympathetic telephone manner is needed if a triage system is to work effectively.

I am a doctors receptionist its difficult as we have to follow what our bosses ( GP partners ) tell us to do just like every other person who is employed but we take all the flack for the system that we have no control over. We sign confidentiality contracts, I have never been in a surgery that doesn't have a big sign up saying if you want to talk to the receptionist in private just ask. So if anyone is worried please just ask. We also have a tv on fairly loudly so hopefully that helps. As we all know there is a wait for the doctor. At my surgery we have clinics with physio , community mental health nurses and pharmasists ( we get check lists of which conditions each and deal with and can book in directly. This hopefully saves the patient waiting for the doctor then having to see someone else aswell. We can also request sicknote or ask regarding prescription queries aswell which might work out quicker again. We are forced to ask the patients and if we don't we get into trouble. We also have specific doctors who do differenr things eg only one doctor fits coils so if you wait 3 weeks for an appointment with the wrong doctor then they can't do anything and send you out and we know you need swabs first then an appointment with the Correct doctor. People also sometimes book smears ect with doctor instead of the nurse. So I do see why they want us to ask but also understand the patient may not like too.

Good point made. I've worked as a GP's receptionist and the hostile responses I've had to the simple question "May I ask what appears to be wrong?" are anything from stilted and blunt right up to foul-mouthed and abusive.

ie: "Why should I tell you?", "That's my business!", "Are YOU a doctor?", "I don't want to say", "It's for the doctor to find out", yak, yak, yak........

And so - unless they were complaining of chest pains(which I was instructed never to ignore) - they got shunted to the back of the list.

All I want is polite and reasonably prompt service on the rare occasion I use the GP (plus that they have a quick glance at my records) and I don't think that's an unreasonable ask in one of the world's richest countries

This.

ralfeesmum yes absolutely, patients who are "stilted and blunt" totally deserve to be delayed in receiving medical treatment. That's a totally reasonable and professional way to behave. No wonder some posters think poorly of GP's receptionists.

Seriously, if callers said "I don't want to say" you put them to the back of the list? Appalling.

@ralfeesmum the problem is that when the polite patients explain their problem they can be told that it’s not urgent and offered an appointment many weeks later - triage by non-clinicians should not happen.

And so - unless they were complaining of chest pains(which I was instructed never to ignore) - they got shunted to the back of the list.
But how would you even know that had chest pains if they didn’t say what it was?
What you’re saying doesn’t make any sense.

ralfeesmum you are a disgrace. And a perfect example of why people dont trust doctor's receptionists to act in a professional manner.