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.

What about people such as my husband?

He leaves for work by 7am and he's never home before 7.30pm.

He CANNOT take calls at work, he's too busy and there's usually no signal or free time to do so anyway. He's often in meetings so wouldn't be able to take a phone call and he generally has to work through his lunch or we'd never see him (& the surgery reception is closed and won't answer calls between 12 noon and 4.30pm).

He works 60 miles away from our GP surgery, so wouldn't be able to get to an appt anyway, and they only offer same day ones or routine ones that are weeks away. Nothing inbetween.

Our surgery closes at 5.30-6pm, or earlier, depending on the day, and isn't open evenings or weekends. For a routine appt the wait is about 4-6 weeks, and you have to ring at 8am for a same day appt (morning only), but it can take up to 60 redials to get through by which time all that morning's appts are gone. You can try again at 4.30pm, for an appt that afternoon, but it's the same issues as in the morning.

If you get through at 8am you can't ask for an appt in the afternoon, you can only get one for then by calling at 4.30pm, and if you call at 4.30pm you can't ask for an appt the next morning, only for that afternoon.

Tough if it doesn't suit your working hours, etc.

This means it can take weeks to get seen for something urgent. Or you give up, or you try A&E or a walk in centre, if you can find one.

We also have to tell the receptionist what the issue is/symptoms are. They're often quite condescending or unhelpful.

My dd had pneumonia, which was left for a week, getting worse and worse before we were able to get a telephone appt, and as the signal is bad here and our landline was broken it took several days to get the call returned as the first time the GP rang I answered the call and they hung up as they couldn't hear me.

I rang the surgery back immediately to explain the problem, and to say how worried I was about my dd, she was very listless and had a raging temp, only to be told I'd missed my slot and they'd let the doctor know the phone line issues (which I'd already told them when they booked the phone appt in the first place) and that I wasn't to come into the surgery.

I'd been convinced she was very poorly, but the receptionists' attitudes when I described her symptoms, had me thinking that I was over reacting, and the fact they didn't think it warranted a proper (seen) appt (they only offered me phone appt) confirmed this. I rang several times to try to expedite things as I was so worried, but they just saw me as an awkward fusser.

When I finally got to speak to the GP and told them the same symptoms I'd told the receptionist, I was told to go straight to A&E, where she was diagnosed with severe pneumonia and spent over a week in hospital on IV antibiotics. She was really poorly for a quite a while.

I'm just lucky I was able to answer the phone the 3rd time (had to keep rebooking a phone appt).

Although,tbf, the day I spoke with the GP, she'd become so listless and couldn't even drink water without being sick, and her temp wouldn't go below 38.5°, even with meds, that I was taking her to A&E myself anyway.
I got the call just after I'd arranged for my mum to stay at mine to be there for my other dc whilst I went to the hospital.

Also, the surgery I used to belong to before I moved away had a receptionist that I was good friends with and she would point people out at the school gates and laugh/tell us about their issues.

We actually fell out over it because I pulled her up on it, told her I'd report her for it as it was wrong, then reported her, but nothing was done.
She was very manipulative and charming, so I'm assuming she convinced them I was making it up or something.

OK Boom25 - YOU try being a GP's receptionist. That's when you see the really dark side of the human soul...........

@privateeyefan, ^^^ please see above. What happens then?

I had a receptionist accuse me of being abusive. They asked what the problem was, I told her and where it was a gross problem she complained to the practice manager. I then got a letter saying telling me off and when I rang up and asked the practice manager what I was meant to do, as without telling the receptionist I wasn't going to get an appointment.
They were embarrassed that the receptionist had been so squeamish, especially when I'd said to the receptionist before hand it wasn't a particularly nice problem and apologised for having to tell her.

Also had the same practice receptionists tell me that they couldn't make me an appointment because it was a holiday and they would like to see their families - I was working the whole holiday, so I wished her well and said I'd see her in my workplace in a couple of days with her family and how lucky she was to be able to spend the time with her family.
That got me kicked off the practice books as it was apparently abusive behaviour.
My other half then ripped into the practice manager in their shared language and told him to get his staff in check and teach them some manners.

In my surgery the receptionists are the gatekeepers and decide who gets an appointment.

On one occasion I needed a gp but was booked in with a nurse (needed a new inhaler but hadn't for six months because my asthma is very mild in summer but I wheeze pretty much constantly from September to may). She couldn't give me a new one because it had been too long.

On another occasion I had a paramedic call on behalf of ds. He had a temp of 39.9, was difficult to rouse, hadn't eaten for three days or drank anything for two, and was not keeping down calpol, so his temp was uncontrolled. Receptionist still wouldn't give him an emergency appointment so I called 111 who sent a paramedic.

He finally managed to keep a dose down while the he was on his way. The and. c did some tests and some observations and waited with ds to be sure the calpol was working /he didn't puke it back up.

Called the surgery because he wanted a Dr to check him over but as ds had drank a bit of squash and his blood sugar was OK after that, didn't think it warranted A&E.
He outlined the situation only to be met with 'there are no appointments left today is it urgent?'. He looked gobsmacked and repeated that he was a paramedic and the patient was four years old. Then he asked to speak to the practice manager and only then did ds get an appointment.

If they had been using the ops system (which does have its flaws) he would have likely been seen much faster.

This ridiculous system is how I ended up seeing 3 people before being told to make a normal doctors appointment and then was told by reception to ring up for one

I'm still living with my symptoms. The receptionist hadn't heard of my ongoing condition and didn't understand my explanation and nor did the three people above her. I'm waiting to see a specialist at the hospital now for a related condition so I can get him to refer within the hospital.

Nothing major, but I can't breath properly and have fluctuating oxygen levels and chest pain. A&E told me to contact the GP 🤷🏻‍♀️ after months running around in circles I'm still no further on

ohtheroses

'I believe vets can treat humans but GPs can't treat animals.'

Do you really believe this or is this tongue in cheek?
If you do believe it then you are entirely incorrect and extremely ill informed.

Most of the receptionists at my surgery are fine though i have had the odd run in...not bad for 30 years or so of visiting

Once my doctor told me that the receptionists could be ‘over zealous’

But we have a nurse triage system which seems to work beautifully...in my experience anyway

Britain spends much less on healthcare than most developed countries. Of course it is about money. We don't pay enough and then complain that our healthcare system is not as good as countries where people pay a lot more.

no ralfeesmum I would never be a doctors receptionist, unless that was the only job I could get, you're right. I spent 5 years studying, living like a pauper, up all night hitting the books before exams, for years, working in way more menial and degrading jobs than being a doctors receptionist, where I was verbally and sexually abused on a regular basis, so that I don't have to. Did you study human biology or medicine?

But if I was a doctor's receptionist, I would do my job more professionally and more respectfully than you appear to do. How can you sleep at night knowing that you are making uninformed judgements that you are not qualified to make on people that might have severe or life threatening consequences based on whether or not you like someone's tone of voice? Have you heard of autism or social anxiety? I hope your practice managers find out what you are doing and discipline you.

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.

Punishing them?

Nice. Very professional.

I certainly wouldn't employ you.

OK Boom25 - YOU try being a GP's receptionist. That's when you see the really dark side of the human soul...........

Give the job up then.
It's apparently awful and badly paid.
Doubtless someone with your attributes (umm.. answering the phone, having basic computer skills and making hot drinks) could get a lovely new job.
Sorted!

OK Boom25 - YOU try being a GP's receptionist. That's when you see the really dark side of the human soul...........

It doesn’t sound like you’re suited to working with unwell and vulnerable people. For everyone’s sakes, hopefully you’re trying to find a new job.

Wow. Narky much?

Once again Op thank you for the work you do. Most if us value our GPS and think you work under a great deal of pressure.

Personally I'm bloody glad I don't have the OP as my GP, or Ralfeesmum working on the reception - and, yes, I've done the job. I don't ever remember being abused on any great scale, but then, I didn't abuse the patients.

Ugh!! Hippocratic oath anyone?? And, while we're on the subject I opted for a nurse a couple of years ago complaining of an excruciating headache, I suffer with headaches following a catastrophic train accident years ago, so believe me when I say The Mother of All Headaches it was. She obsessively checked and rechecked me for stroke (believe me I was showing no signs of stroke whatsoever). The one thing she didn't check was my ears had she done so she would have found a had an ear infection (I was not aware that there was anything wrong in my ear). As a result of this I now have life long tinnitus, thanks, won't be doing that again.

And that's exactly why a nurse shouldn't be doing a GP's job. A GP would (hopefully) have thought further than the obvious, even if the patient didn't mention anything suspicious.

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

Having recently lost someone shortly after they tried and failed to get a GP appointment, I am more and more disturbed by this thread.

I am also 100% less happy about sharing anything with receptionists.

Receptionists are not professionals (as can clearly be seen by the disturbing post about playground gossip) and should not be triaging or placing anyone in order of anything.

@Justblockthebitch it is extremely difficult to get removed from a practice list and the practice must have very good grounds

So if you were removed for being abusive then I strongly suspect you said a lot more than you claim to have done.

Abusing staff is not on. You should be embarrassed about it not gloat about it on a forum.

Heart attacks, by the way, can also manifest without chest pains. Particularly in women, apparently.

It's quite simple really: get rid of all the excess admin and committees the NHS revels in and allow as many GPs as want to to set up a practice anywhere they like and you'll have a system that works with appointments when patients ask for them.

Funding is a problem, yes, but so is all the proceduring, managering and commissioning. Leave the organisation solely to doctors and nurses and you'll see an instant improvement. Ah and not to forget: the healthcare system should not be a political football, but should be a fixture.

OP wouldn't it make sense to ring the "definitely today" people first, THEN the "no informations", THEN the "definitely can waits", rather than leaving the second group until last?

I think a triage system in a GP surgery is ridiculous and if my surgery had it I would change to another. I do not have to discuss my personal business with a receptionist who has no medical qualifications. If a nurse was doing the triage it would be different.
However, I attend a good surgery and the receptionists are ok. I have never been asked what my problem is. If I choose to tell them that’s a different matter but I am not going to be quizzed by a receptionist.
I can’t say I am totally happy with the appointment system but it’s the same all over. However, if I phone on the day I usually get to see a doctor.
I don’t need to be ‘triaged’. I only go to the doctor if I really need to.
In the past at other surgeries I have come across some really horrible jumped up nosy receptionists that act like the gate keeper.

This triage system has only just come in at my GP surgery. I hate it. I have to beg for appointments from clearly inadequately trained receptionists for severe exacerbations of a condition that requires urgent medical treatment from time to time. Last time I ended up in A&E as they said I wasn't ill enough for a call back from anyone. It's ridiculous and extremely stressful. What an awful system. Nothing for the NHS to be proud of.