"Can I ask what it's for?"

[Syrinx89]

Is it normal for the receptionist to ask this question when booking a GP appointment over the phone? This happened to me for the first time on Monday when calling my local surgery for an appointment and I wondered what I would have said if it was something I wanted to keep confidential (thankfully, it wasn't!). Has anyone else had any experience with this? Is it allowed/the norm?

YABU - YES it is common practice
YANBU - No, this doesn't sit well

My surgery takes your details when you call to ask for an appointment and a doctor calls everyone back to do this initial triage themselves.

Far better IMO - GPs are very well-paid and its not unreasonable to expect them to do this job themselves.

It's too much responsibility for the receptionist as well, definitely a case of being 'above their paygrade'.

All these folk saying receptionists aren't trained to decide if you need to see a doctor - they actually are. It's part of their job.

They aren't making clinical decisions, but they are trained to know the difference between what needs an urgent appointment with a GP, who might just need a phonecall with a doctor, what can be dealt with by a nurse practitioner, if you would be better off popping to the pharmacy or if you should call 999.

That's exactly what they are trained for and why they are asking you.

Its on the auto answer message at ours. Being vague is ok, most receptionists are understanding about it, they are just trying to route people to best use the resources.

I nearly totally lost my shit on Friday, but when I said "Errmmm, I guess you would say mental health reasons" to the receptionist, she got me in that day instead of a week later that he had previously said was available.

I hate it when the (veh posh) receptionists ask at my local surgery. Agree with pp that it's a serious confidentiality risk: these people are not regulated professionals. The temptation to reply 'I've been shagging your husband and he's given me crabs' is almost overwhelming at times.

Agree with pp that it's a serious confidentiality risk: these people are not regulated professionals.

An awful lot of people who work in the healthcare (basically all support staff) are not "regulated professionals" doesn't stop them being capable of maintaining confidentiality. They no doubt have access to your records anyway so could take a peek if they're that unscrupulous.

They aren't making clinical decisions

Yes, they are. They are acting as the gatekeeper to healthcare, which is a fundamental role of a GP.

They simply aren't trained (or paid) enough to take on that sort of responsibility.

The receptionist have to uphold the same confidentiality as the doctors. They have done this at various surgeries for many years where I've lived in London and elsewhere. It's so they can not waste appointments with things that don't need them urgently. Such as a sick note or prescription requests. Also my GP surgery has an extra care service close by. So if you have something that doesn't need continuity of care for example a sprain or chest infection (assuming no other ongoing related conditions) they could send you there.

It's common but I don't like it

Yep completely normal. It used to piss me off but these days it doesn't bother me.

Mine do this and I hate it. I think it's reasonable for them to ask if it's urgent. They also have a couple of nurse practitioners with specialisms that they like to direct patients towards when that's appropriate, so I wouldn't mind if they asked 'is it to do with respiratory problems or diabetes?'. But in general, I feel like it's none of their business.

I used to be on antidepressants and I hated that every time I went to collect my prescription I'd be asked what it was for, because they filed prescriptions for the pill separately for some reason. Now I do my repeat prescriptions online and get them sent straight to the pharmacy.

It's redic people don't seem to be able to understand the receptionists can uphold confidentiality.

My surgery has done this for years. It used to really kiss me off, especially when I was calling for an emergency appointment and felt like the receptionist was going to triage me and decide if it was urgent.

However, a couple of times I’ve not wanted to disclose - gynae issue once, MH issue another time - and have said ‘it’s sensitive and I’d rather not say’ and they’ve been absolutely fine with that, so I no longer mind them asking.

We’ve now got an online booking service, too, and it asks for your reason for booking. I think it’s just info first the GP.

I don't agree with it at all but it's been standard practice at our surgery for a long time.

It's basically a way of deterring people who they feel are wasting GP's time

They ask at our surgery and I’ve started to say “I don’t want to discuss it with you” or just say something really embarrassing and they’ll soon change subject. None of their business really but it’s to get a heads up for the GP I guess, not that it helps the GP in any way so I really don’t see the purpose of it. Just wastes more time on the call when they could move on to the hundreds waiting 🙄

Charles Dance got it spot on when he was on Room 101 and said he wanted to put NHS receptionists in there because “they behave as if they are the gatekeepers to the NHS”. This was met with applause by the audience.
Then when you go in they pretend they haven’t seen you and keep you waiting whilst gossiping. That’s how they behave at our surgery anyway. Boils my piss.

I don't have a problem with being asked the question if it helps to direct me towards seeing the right person.

What I do have a problem with is when, as has happened to me at two different surgeries, the receptionist tells me that I don't need an appointment with them and should go and buy such as such a treatment from a pharmacy, and if it doesn't work ring them again and they'd give me an appointment with the appropriate member of their staff.

Not realising that they didn't know what they were talking about, I took their advice on both occasions and of course ended up having to see a doctor anyway.

They are not medically qualified and have no business advising people on treatments.

Yanbu my practice never ask what the appointment is for. So I'd be a little thrown the first time they ask it.

None of their business really but it’s to get a heads up for the GP I guess, not that it helps the GP in any way so I really don’t see the purpose of it. Just wastes more time on the call when they could move on to the hundreds waiting 🙄
If it wasted time and didnt make a difference then the GPs wouldn't ask them to do it.

It's basically a way of deterring people who they feel are wasting GP's time do you actually have evidence for this? Because every person on this thread who has said they prefer not say or that its private still appears to be getting appointments.

Still doing it at ours. Partly to make you the right appointment: for some things the specially trained nurse is actually better/more knowledgeable than the doctor.

It’s the norm at mine too. I’m a classic over sharer! Or at least feels like it! I initaly assumed they pass what you say into doc but they do not! So now I have some fun!

*They aren't making clinical decisions

Yes, they are. They are acting as the gatekeeper to healthcare, which is a fundamental role of a GP.

They simply aren't trained (or paid) enough to take on that sort of responsibility*

They are trained. I agree they are not paid enough, but they are trained - they are "care coordinators" now, not receptionists.

It's the GPs themselves (the partners) who employ their staff to triage the phone calls and run their practice in this way.

So if you think that the people answering the phones and asking patients how they can best help them are somehow a barrier to people seeking healthcare, take it up with the partners at the surgery who employ staff to work in this way.

They used to ask me at ours but I've not been asked since I got diagnosed with MS. I think they just assume it's about that, though it usually not.

I don't mind over the phone but face to face at the receptionists desk is a bit much. I've been asked and refused to say as there were ears flapping in the waiting room. (We live in a small town where everyone knows everyone else.)
They also give you and option when booking online to say what the appointments for.
Just say it's personal.

They've been doing this for years at my GP surgery. It helps them prioritise I suppose, because the nurse practitioners can deal with many things.

I'm a GP receptionist, we are told to do this by the doctors/nurses and management. It is for the good of the patient more than anything - at least once every week or two somebody will phone for an appointment with symptoms of heart attack, stroke, meningitis etc and we can then make sure they get a 999 ambulance rather than waiting until whatever time to come to surgery. Patients also often ask for an appointment when really they just need a repeat prescription, sick note or to ask a simple question, and if we know this we can sort them out straight away without them having to wait for an appointment to come in to see the doctor, and effectively waste an appointment, which are unfortunately limited. There are also some patients who want to book in with a GP for a blood test or a wound dressing - you'd almost certainly be asked to re-book with a nurse or healthcare assistant, and honestly I wouldn't want a GP taking my blood or bandaging me anyway, they do these kinds of tasks so rarely these days that they're often crap at it.

With nurse appointments especially, different things need different time allowances. It's no good booking someone into a five-minute blood test slot if they're actually coming for their full 30-minute or more annual review - they'd have a wasted journey, they'd be asked to re-book. On the other hand, allowing someone 30 minutes when they only need blood taking would be a huge waste of the nurse's time that could be used seeing other patients.

Very few patients refuse to tell me, which surprised me when I first started. In fact, lots of patients will go on and on and on when, 'it's my knee' would have done fine. Some problems are also quite difficult to explain so it ends up being a long story once you start trying to tell it! I don't think anyone's ever declined to give a reason for an appointment with the nurse, but then I suppose a blood test or an asthma check or even a smear is less personal than something you might see a doctor for. If anyone doesn't want to tell me why they want to see the doctor, that's not a problem - I just have to put something in the box to show that I've asked, 'personal' or 'prefers not to say' will do fine.

Like PP have said, receptionists are also bound by confidentiality.

Administrative staff in GP surgeries are the ones who generate the repeat prescriptions for GPs to sign.

Depending on the system in the surgery, they will also be typing the referral letters to hospitals that GPs dictate.

So they will know what medication patients are on, and also details of someone's medical history.

It's not a "serious breach of confidentiality" at all.

Of course anyone can refuse to answer the question when asked. But worries about confidentiality aren't a good reason for that, imho.