NHS piss takers. Selfish, self absorbed people

[ThornsWithin]

Without going into specifics, I work in a clinic and see people by appointment. They have an allocated time slot ranging from 10 minutes to 40 minutes depending on what I’m seeing them for. Since I started this job I’ve become amazed and frustrated with how many people think it’s fine to stroll in late. Sometimes upto 30 minutes late and still expect to be seen. Once they’re 10 minutes late we can mark them as non attenders but half the time, they stroll in after that time and get at the receptionists about how they “must” be seen - the receptionists then come to us panicking and we end up seeing them to keep the peace. These people don’t give a shit that their behaviour puts the clinic way behind, makes other people’s waiting times much longer, causes staff to be off late ... and half the time they don’t even have an excuse for being late! We get “sorry, I forgot” or “sorry, I got talking in the shop” or even “sorry, I didn’t want to get up this morning! Hehe”

It’s a joke. What makes it even worse is when they stroll in late, check in and then bugger off to go to toilet or get a drink! You’re already 20 minutes late ffs! At least get a shift on once you’re here!!

AIBU to literally refuse to see people once their 10 minutes late thing is up? It would make me unpopular with both patients and staff but I’m sick of the piss taking. I’m sick of getting home late because people can’t be arsed to turn up on time.

I wouldn’t dream of strolling into an appointment 10 minutes late, why do people think this is ok??

Or should I be more tolerant?

Btw the clinic is not mental health related or urgent care.

Selling the services to the highest bidder isn't going to solve the problem. And charging wouldn't solve it - you'd get the arguments tenfold if they then found out they were being billed before they could use the service again. And, probably with good reason, you'd get people fed up after waiting for 45 minutes the next time wanting payment for their wasted time.

I work in a dental practice, I feel the same way.

We offer people who are early a tea or a coffee while the wait, but late people just get a swift “take a seat they’ll be with you in just a second to see how much they can do now”

Then THEY ASK FOR A BLOODY COFFEE, or worse yet, help themselves! Then when they’re ready to be taken it they pick up their coffee and make a show of spending a minute gulping it down in rush. Making them even more bloody late.

People like this were brought up with absolutely no manners at all.

My last two appointments I've been early (20 minutes). I come prepared to wait until my time, or beyond on occasions, and bring a book. Both times I've been seen early because whoever was booked in before me was late. There are notices up about what happens if you're late.

Start with signage advising that due to people turning up late if you are more than five
Minutes late in future you won’t be seen and will have to rebook. Stick to it.

but seeing them at the end of the clinic means I have to work late. Why should I? I have stuff to do too.

Given that you are apparently currently required to see them even if they do turn up late, you will have to work late anyway. At least if you make them wait till the end that will be some deterrent to turning up late next time, especially if you publicise that that is what will happen.

I would also communicate clearly on booking appointment that the patient needs to arrive 10 minutes early due to the high number of non- attenders they may be able to be seen before their appointment.

Agree though that we are all used to being kept waiting as patients. I understand staff are overworked.

My midwife friend says this but says that not seeing them will only give HER more work to do on the long run so chronic regularly runs hours after she is meant to have finished work. Also they aren't given enough time per appointment anyway. I know there are some people that she does their appointments are home to save her time.

How late do you keep them waiting?

How long have they had to wait for their appointment date?

How far have they had to travel to reach you?

How accessible is the building?

What times of day are these appointments?

How do staff behave towards them?

Do receptionists acknowledge people queuing or pretend they're invisible until the receptionist staring resolutely at their computer screen has decided they're good and ready to acknowledge the presence of the human standing waiting wondering if they've accidentally gone to the wrong place and that's why they've not had the courtesy of "I'll be with you in a moment"?

And about a hundred other questions I can't be bothered to ask since you clearly have no empathy or consideration for anyone other than yourself.

Research shows patients behave as you describe when they feel disrespected by their healthcare provider.

So you're the one who needs to reflect on the ways in which you contribute to that message of disrespect.

Surely the nurse isn’t late if they don’t start until 9, whoever is allocating appointments needs to not schedule them for before staff arrive. I’m a nurse and I have never been late for work, I’m always quite early so I can have a cuppa and take some time before my shift starts but I don’t see patients before I officially start.

I’m always too early for gp appointments and because they always run late I’m always sat there for ages. Fine if it’s just me but my 8 year old can’t wait as long and gets quite frustrated so it can be a bit tense.
I absolutely wouldn’t expect to be seen if I was more than a couple of minutes late though.

What’s the hospital policy on latecomers? Go by that.

I'm on the fence here - I've been kept waiting by the NHS for much more time than vice versa, but you get what you pay for - however, what jumps out to me from your description is that late patients aren't actually wasting your time as you have so much to do anyway. So it sounds like you're mainly bothered by their poor manners. You know that people bluster and bluff when they know they're in the wrong, don't you?

I think take whatever sensible assertive steps you can to address the issue, but please, for your own mental health, don't take it all so personally.

My NHS GP runs bang on time by the way and my daughter's eye clinic do pretty well ( and both are so polite and helpful) but the antenatal service I used made you wait for 2 hours every time and adult eye services are like something out of Kafka. There is huge variation.

myidentitycrisis yes they are overwirked due to supposed funding cuts but what I find difficult to rationalise is that things were no different 25 years ago. Some of it must therefore be due to a culture of disrespect and poor service that is embedded and now excused by cuts.

There should be a fee for being late unless provable circumstances for lateness like a road closure or something.

Ywnbu to decline to see them.

What I don’t understand is why drs etc wait out the 10 minutes before they call the next person??
If Mr Smith isn’t there for his appointment but the next person is in then call them in then recall for Mr Smith after you have seen the next patient.

At my surgery they give you less than 5mins (even to babies which I know because I was less than 5 mins late because of a poo explosion and they wouldn’t see my DD)

One of the clinics I attend always runs at least one hour fifteen minutes late and is often an hour and a half or two hours late. As OhTheRoses says, it creates a sense that the NHS doesn't care about taking up your time so people reflect that back.

I’m back at work tomorrow, I’m going to try out the suggestion of making people wait until after clinic with no guarantee that they will be seen at all. I finish at 4pm. If my last patient isn’t out until 4pm then the late waiters will not be seen.

Then again, I think this might cause more anger and bad feeling than anything else if Sharon has been sat waiting since 10:15 until 4pm and still doesn’t get seen 😂 in all honesty, I don’t think any of them would be willing to wait anyway. God forbid they be inconvenienced by their own lateness.

I agree that it is not acceptable to turn up late. However- I have had my yearly check up (for an ongoing chronic condition )that was meant to be in June cancelled twice by letter , having shifted work around each time in order to be able to make each appointment. First I had an appointment in June. Cancelled work to make that date. ( I am freelance) .That was cancelled and I was given an appointment in August. That was cancelled and then I was given a date end of October. That is annoying too.

My dentist is 100% behind this. Don't show up on time, don't get seen and get charged for the appointment.

I think it's totally fair. Lateness is usually lateness unless horrific traffic/ kids sick etc. Otherwise non excusable.

Swings and roundabouts. If lateness runs both ways then I'd expect to be given an ETA of actual time and for someone to apologise.

I attend a regular appt and it runs late by at least an hour, often more every week. The same appt people get there an hour before then complain about the wait.

We were ten minutes late for my ds's dental appt a few weeks ago. DH was very apologetic and of course rebooked.

I am early for everything DH is late imo. He gets to appts around the time but often just after and it drives me nuts.

They could sit and wait to see if someone else does a no show, or if a person is late, take the late shower in, then when they turn up do the same. It’s a domino effect. You turn up late you wait for a space.

OP it seems to me, you're trying the worst option out of the lot suggested here.

Well, i don't quite understand what the OP is on about here.... the Trust will make the decisions on what happens to late attendees, not a receptionist or even their line management.... and it will be a strict policy too.
Surely, others in the clinic are disrupted too? cleaners security guards other nhs staff?

If she is in the private sector, then i doubt you get too many folk who say "the alarm didn't go off" for a 1230 appointment.

Why on earth is a dental practice giving our free bloody coffee's??? do i get free biscuits too? lol! never ever seen that in NHS or Private practice.
Dentists are hardly likely to want a mouthful of gulped down coffee are they.

Yanbu. This annoys me too and I dont work in the nhs. The amount of missed appointments is staggering

Actually thornswithin. Somebody needs to tell Sharon (or Mrs Jones) that and advise her she may be seen if she can wait until 4. Mrs Jones (and yes it is Mrs Jones unless you have the courtesy to ask if you may use thebfirst name) may have been 15 mins late duento the car park, being let down by childcare, and you think it's acceptable to keep her there for 6 hours with no communication. You have just demonstrated what is wrong at the geart of the NHS.

If there are no consequences there's no reason for the behaviour to change. It will cause kicking off and moaning (and possibly shouting and ranting) as people will try different behaviour to make those consequences go away, but that's when staff point to the 'we don't tolerate abusive behaviour in here' sign.

Identity's idea above seems a good one; please arrive ten minutes before appointment, you may be able to be seen earlier if someone has not arrived in time for their appointment, if someone is not present when their name is called then that appointment has gone. If they'd like to wait through the rest of clinic time, they may be able to have an empty slot by another no show, or there maybe time for a few appointments at the end of clinic, which finishes at this time. Otherwise, book again and have another go. If the problem is urgent then they will be motivated to come and get help with it, the responsibility has to be on them.

Having worked in a service (not health related) where a lot of casual bookings and people coming on the day if it was convenient was costing a fortune, a small cost per booking was stated, but payable only if the person didn't show up. However the admin team, if someone phoned in a panic with a genuine problem, would just quietly waive that cost and help them rebook. It sorted out the casual cancellations quite quickly, mostly just by the potential cost of cancellation existing.