Why are GP receptionists so rude?

[cosmikdebris]

Every single one I've experienced,especially now I'm a mum, seem to act like guardians of the nhs. I've been trying to sign up to my local GP since JUNE LAST YEAR! They've lost my sign up forms 3 times, told me my information is wrong twice and straight up told me to 'sign up else where if i don't like how they practice' and have also told me I'm an irresponsible parent for missing my daughters first jab date (I missed it because they lost mine and her sign up forms may I add).

I tried another go slightly further away yesterday, only to be treated with more attitude and rudeness. I'm so desperate for some help with my mental health, and I've got a backlog of different physical things I need checked, I don't understand why they're all so eager to work against you! Surely they should be required to be calm and compassionate towards people, considering doctor's surgeries are generally full of unwell people.

I just don't understand it. Maybe it's more stressful than I think it is? Maybe I'm just unlucky! Or maybe they're required to put up a front so people don't waste the time of doctors? It's not difficult to just be nice to people though...is it?

I’ve always found them to be very helpful

The receptionists at my GP are all lovely and helpful.
It sounds like you’ve been unlucky.
Is your baby signed up yet ? If not get the HV involved.

Same here!

Ours are lovely. And professionally, I meet quite a few too and they're always helpful and empathetic.

I warrant people will complain too that they ask you your symptoms and they should "keep their noses out" but that's just ensuring you see the correct person.

Never had a problem tbh.

Mine are lovely, really kind and go the extra mile to be helpful.

Im not sure on the back office admin staff though who deal with the paperwork - Im not coming into contact with them.

Presently the job isn't easy and Ive met one out locally when I was working and shed spent the day before telephoning people to cancel their vaccinations as the vaccinations hadn't arrived - unpleasant job. Yet they are always pleasant when I telephone

My dads surgery, the receptionist burst into tears on the phone to the district nurse when she told them he'd died. Whilst some may think its unprofessional I thought it was a sign how much the care

Ours are lovely despite receiving a barrage of abuse.

www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/health/gps-receptionist-admits-every-single-appointment-is-a-personal-defeat-20181028178768

If I had to guess I'd say its a badly managed practice at least on the admin side and a toxic work culture. Yes there is stress and rude patients but well supported staff tend to cope better with those things.

OP I agree!! Ours are all awful!

Four out of five at our practice are helpful, but one is a complete dragon and reduced me to tears when DTs were tiny (tbf it didn’t take much). Whenever I ring now I make a point of writing down exactly what I need before I call so I can be polite but assertive on the ‘phone.

I appreciate it’s probably not an easy job and they need to weed out all the patients who want the doctor to look at their sore toe for the fourth time, but some of them could definitely do with some customer service training. With admin problems like you’ve been experiencing I think I’d write to the practice manager.

I used to think that about school receptionists until ours retired and was replaced by someone lovely. It's not all receptionists at GP surgeries, it's just some of them.

I find them generally quite dismissive and grumpy. I’ve had to stop them interrupting me in the past so I can actually finish my sentence. But it’s because they’re so busy.

I am 50 and this far have never come across a helpful or polite receptionist. I think most I have come across assume it is their job to do as much as possible to prevent people accessing healthcare.

There are a few awful ones at our GP's it puts you off ringing

@DinosaurDiana

The receptionists at my GP are all lovely and helpful. It sounds like you’ve been unlucky. Is your baby signed up yet ? If not get the HV involved.

She is now yeah,our health visitor said that she's not even surprised that something like this happened, and also admitted to her surgery being very unprofessional too. It took multiple calls from her to my gp to get her signed up. It's crazy how they make it so difficult sometimes!

My mum is an NHS receptionist and has been for many years. She would be horrified at you tarring them all with the same brush! My mum goes out of her way to help people and is very polite. She once drove a patient to the hospital as the Doctor didn't have time to see him - turns out it was an oncoming heart attack and my mum pretty much saved his life.

I’m sure they’re as nice as most people really. Being constantly in a hurry makes people perfunctory.

I lived in the UK for years and found most of the GP receptionists I dealt with to be very rude. It always felt like they were having a very bad day and made you the target of their frustration. A perfectly innocent question or request would be received like an insult.

I just assumed that they must hate their jobs for some reason or another. There's plenty of reasons to hate working for the NHS, I suppose.

Yeah the ones at my GP surgery are really horrible (over 12 years, but I assume they are different ones, I haven't found a nice one).
I'm sure it must be in the job description?
I also don't get what abuse they get compared to anyone who has to deal with the public.
Their attitude is so horrible it does get my back up and I guess I match their tone, I assume they must have very thick skins because I couldn't interact with people with that attitude all day.

I feel you OP, many of the receptionists I've spoken to have been so unnecessarily rude. Only one was kind to me when I was really struggling with my mental health, I was so mixed up I turned up for an appointment a month earlier than I should as I genuinely thought the date on my appointment letter was the day I turned up. I burst into tears, so embarrassed, felt like I'd lost the plot! She was very nice to me but most of them are mean.

It is more stressful than you think it is.
Some receptionists are rude.
Some patients are rude.

Ours are a mixed bag. They are often lovely and very helpful but some are not. Some are very unhelpful usually when the practice has messed up a prescription.

Generally I think the issue is that GP practices have no cognizance that some members of the public are at work from 9 to 5 (or 6 or 7) often an hours journey away and it is very difficult to resolve mistakes from a distance. Any other business would go the extra mile when they make an error bit not GP practices where their errors cost the patient time and money and it should be vice versa.

I hasten to add I manage a couple of chronic conditions and my contact is rarely about urgent/acute issues.

Although I should mention there was one GP receptionist who I encountered not long before I left the UK (we moved around a lot) and she was very polite and helpful. Really lovely. I was gobsmacked at her attitude. Almost made me not want to leave the country.

My GP practice closed recently, they were lovely. Whenever I call the new practice they interrupt constantly and are very dismissive, I ended up hanging up last time

Agree completely with @PeggyHill

The ones at our surgery are absolutely dreadful. Rude, abrupt and unhelpful.