GP surgery like a forbidden fortress

[Redolent]

I left my daughter’s red book at the GP surgery so that the nurse could check it. She called me yesterday and said it was ready to pick up. Have no other details.

Went to collect it today (wearing a face mask, standing 2 metres back) and the receptionist was very annoyed at me. ‘You should have called beforehand so we could have left it on the table by the door’... ‘we don’t want people coming in’.

Then she asked me to step outside while she put it on the table, went back inside in, then called me to collect it.

AIBU to think this is ridiculously exaggerated? I’m all for facilitating phone consultations with GPs where possible, but when the surgery operates like a barricaded Fort Knox, it doesn’t exactly encourage people to come forward with their ailments. Especially minor ones that may turn out to be serious if checked out.

They'll be cautious. I work in a GP surgery and at the beginning of lockdown when the advice was to stay home and ring 111 we had swarthes of people piling in every day coughing and sweating all over the place. Even through all this we've had usually elderly people rolling up to request their repeat prescriptions face to face or for a chat. No surprise I've tested positive for antibodies.
Slightly exaggerated though in your situation, yes.

... and I've been doing vaccinations, urgent smears, blood monitoring, B12 injection throughout.

These threads really piss me off.

I work in a GP surgery. We are not sitting around scratching our arses, we’re really bloody busy.

No, the doors aren’t open. No we don’t want people popping in and out for prescriptions, paperwork, queries, sample pots and blood forms. We used to have hundreds of people in and out each day, we are now trying to protect both our staff AND the patients we are seeing, many of whom are especially vulnerable.

If you need to be seen, we are seeing you. I appreciate not all areas are working in the same way and it sounds like many GP surgeries are being overly cautious, but they may well have good reason to do so. One surgery in my town has closed and “merged” with another as they have staffing limitations due to having to staff the hot hub (for suspected Covid cases). Those hot staff can’t come and work in the cold surgery.

@Fink bear in mind many pharmacies weren’t accepting paper prescriptions either hence why they may have wanted your repeats issued electronically. They should have advised if that was the case though.

@DominaShantotto agree with your first paragraph & im sorry to hear that about your dd

@Sidge

These threads really piss me off.

I work in a GP surgery. We are not sitting around scratching our arses, we’re really bloody busy.

No, the doors aren’t open. No we don’t want people popping in and out for prescriptions, paperwork, queries, sample pots and blood forms. We used to have hundreds of people in and out each day, we are now trying to protect both our staff AND the patients we are seeing, many of whom are especially vulnerable.

If you need to be seen, we are seeing you. I appreciate not all areas are working in the same way and it sounds like many GP surgeries are being overly cautious, but they may well have good reason to do so. One surgery in my town has closed and “merged” with another as they have staffing limitations due to having to staff the hot hub (for suspected Covid cases). Those hot staff can’t come and work in the cold surgery.

@Fink bear in mind many pharmacies weren’t accepting paper prescriptions either hence why they may have wanted your repeats issued electronically. They should have advised if that was the case though.

I get that, but I do object to being told to go and collect an item by the doctor to be made to shout through a locked door what I needed and wasn't happy until I gave all details about my sons suspected UTI in a very public area and then begrudgingly went to check and came back with a sample with post it note on detailing I would be down to collect.

All of my prescriptions have been done electronically, they messed it up so I now need to apply monthly was 6 monthly and they can't revert it back till I am seen in person.

Each one of those people could mean death for her.

Pretty fucking unlikely though. "Each of those people could mean a mild respiratory illness from which she would most likely experience zero symptoms" would be more accurate.

But don't let facts get in the way of your hyperbole.

I guess GP surgeries are potentially full of people who are ill or Immunocompromised and hairdressers and dentists are not.

Your doctors sounds awful mines been lovely surprisingly as they are normally pretty shit (as in don't answer the phones, long about everything). I've had to go there to collect a sample pot, to drop off the sample pot and to attend 2 appointments and all has been fine. Lovely and polite, no shouting through locked doors.

My GP surgery is ok but our local A&E dept is awful.
My Dad had to take my 82 year old mum there on Sunday. She has some degree of heart failure and was struggling to breathe and she has also somehow hurt her hip/leg/back (not sure which it is as it all hurts). She is virtually deaf and getting very confused yet my poor old Dad wasn't allowed to go in with her and had to wait outside. I understand why they don't want hordes of people in there however she was unable to explain what was wrong which led to her apparently being stuck in a cubicle for 4 hours and no one seeing her (Although Im not convinced thats entirely true but she is convinced thats what happened). There needs to be some degree of leeway to enable people that do need help and support to actually get it.

@Sidge

These threads really piss me off.

I work in a GP surgery. We are not sitting around scratching our arses, we’re really bloody busy.

No, the doors aren’t open. No we don’t want people popping in and out for prescriptions, paperwork, queries, sample pots and blood forms. We used to have hundreds of people in and out each day, we are now trying to protect both our staff AND the patients we are seeing, many of whom are especially vulnerable.

If you need to be seen, we are seeing you. I appreciate not all areas are working in the same way and it sounds like many GP surgeries are being overly cautious, but they may well have good reason to do so. One surgery in my town has closed and “merged” with another as they have staffing limitations due to having to staff the hot hub (for suspected Covid cases). Those hot staff can’t come and work in the cold surgery.

@Fink bear in mind many pharmacies weren’t accepting paper prescriptions either hence why they may have wanted your repeats issued electronically. They should have advised if that was the case though.

Are you wearing face masks?

If not, what’s stopping you from transmitting the virus to vulnerable patients?

Is it surprising that a Dr's receptionist would not relish the chance during this unbelievably shit time to be even more unhelpful and power crazy than they normally are.

I've had the same experience for months, I know they have to be careful but for fucks's sake I've been working in the NHS full time for months with and without covid patients and doing full clinics now.
I've been super careful and haven't caught it even though I'm high risk. I chose to stay at work.

@Redolent of course I am. I’m a clinician, and wearing full PPE.

@Sidge

My mother has no choice but to 'pop' into the surgery for her prescription. She wouldn't get it otherwise and it is medication that she needs.

GP surgeries do an amazing job, and I appreciate that they work very, very hard but that doesn't mean that they can do no wrong, and we are entitled to feel angry when we are treated in a not so nice way.

If surgeries do not have appropriate signage and they do not email all patients with the practice's current regulations, then they cannot expect everyone to know what to do.

Why can't she phone and order it? Chemist will deliver.

@Sidge

These threads really piss me off.

I work in a GP surgery. We are not sitting around scratching our arses, we’re really bloody busy.

No, the doors aren’t open. No we don’t want people popping in and out for prescriptions, paperwork, queries, sample pots and blood forms. We used to have hundreds of people in and out each day, we are now trying to protect both our staff AND the patients we are seeing, many of whom are especially vulnerable.

If you need to be seen, we are seeing you. I appreciate not all areas are working in the same way and it sounds like many GP surgeries are being overly cautious, but they may well have good reason to do so. One surgery in my town has closed and “merged” with another as they have staffing limitations due to having to staff the hot hub (for suspected Covid cases). Those hot staff can’t come and work in the cold surgery.

@Fink bear in mind many pharmacies weren’t accepting paper prescriptions either hence why they may have wanted your repeats issued electronically. They should have advised if that was the case though.

Totally agree

@Littlemeadow123 I couldn’t agree more. My own surgery is pretty poor, and I have complained before. Of course they should be held to account.

However patients also need to adjust their expectations during this pandemic. We cannot email every patient (we don’t have consent to do that for all) but we have a surgery website which is updated regularly and displays all our current practices.

Text messages confirm appointments, with a note to wear a face mask or covering and that the doors are closed and to use the intercom.

Why doesn’t your mum email her prescription requests, or sign up for online management of her patient account so she can request them that way? Another option is to use pharmacy systems, whereby they will request, process and issue meds that are required regularly. Or if you mean she has to pop in to collect the actual meds, ask about pharmacy deliveries.

After the first few weeks initial madness (understandably so!) I have been impressed with how local services have worked to make sure DS has been kept on top of his treatment between going in for eye tests and blood tests and doing other things virtually. It is working well and I was worried how much it would knock on.

I have also found an increase in practitioners being allowed to email things over which is is much easier!

I’m pleased GP surgeries and similar are being careful of who comes in and what contact they have with people. A lot of people who need to go in will be highly vulnerable so extra precaution is needed to protect them.

[quote Sidge]@Redolent of course I am. I’m a clinician, and wearing full PPE.[/quote]
Ah fair enough.

The receptionists not wearing them isn’t right though. They pose a greater risk to patients than multiple people fleetingly popping in with face masks.

But our receptionists aren’t having any patient contact. They are working in isolation, not mingling with clinical staff (we are having to socially isolate at work too, it’s pretty miserable).

To be fair the way our surgery is laid out means that as we bring patients in they have no contact with reception staff. A plastic shield barrier has been installed across reception. They are also hand washing, using sanitiser, changing at work etc. We’re doing all we can to minimise risk, reduce spread and manage the workload safely.

Another option is to use pharmacy systems, whereby they will request, process and issue meds that are required regularly.

Unless the pharmacy is refusing to do that and directing people requesting repeat prescriptions to the GP surgery next door! That's exactly what happens with ours. Prior to Covid, you could take in your repeat prescription request form (or just tell them over the counter), and they'd order it from the GP next door. Now they refuse to do any of that - there are also huge signs in the window saying to go to the GP surgery to ask for repeat prescriptions. Of course, surgery is locked up with signs on the door telling you to ring up. Then you ring and there are messages saying you can't request a repeat prescription by phone and need to do it online or in person. So, basically, between the two places, they've basically decided online is the only way. That sounds OK until you try to register for their online systems, which tell you that you have to go to the GP surgery and ask in person for a activation code. The whole thing is a complete shambles.

But our receptionists aren’t having any patient contact. They are working in isolation, not mingling with clinical staff (we are having to socially isolate at work too, it’s pretty miserable).

Do your receptionists have their own designated toilets, separate kitchen area etc?

@Badbadbunny we each clean the toilet after use (we only have one staff one), and make our own drinks and wash up our own mugs.

There’s very little clinician/admin crossover. And of course all clinicians are wearing PPE, hand washing and cleaning like there’s no tomorrow.

Oh and I forgot to say, your surgery does sound shambolic. A bit of communication between surgery and pharmacy wouldn’t go amiss!