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?

@OBitchPeas my mum tried calling an ambulance. There were none immediately available. She took charge when she realised the urgency of the situation, plus the hospital wasn't a long drive away.

We have one receptionist who runs the whole thing as a personal fiefdom.
Hadn't been to the Doctors in ages, then had to go 3 times in 7 days.
Day 1 (Monday)
Arrive to be greeted by a bewildering array of notices sellotaped to the surgery doors, Some NHS produced, some internally printed and some hand lettered. The net result of these was that if you had anything that vaguely resembled covid - bugger off and phone in.

Inside the door is the booking in terminal, its off. Next to it is a hand sanitising station with a hand lettered 'out of order' sign on it. I go through the inner doors and spot a hand sanitising station on the far wall. I'm making a bee line for this when I'm asked where it is I think I'm going and I'm not to move from that spot until I've been booked in and had my temperature taken. This happens and I take a seat in the waiting area.

Day 2 (Friday)
On this visit the booking in terminal is working and so is the hand sanitiser. I book myself in, sanitise and then present myself at reception.
"Yes"
"Do you need to take my temperature?"
"What's your name?"
I give my name, frantic typing ensues.
"Date of birth?"
I give my DOB, further frantic typing.
"You haven't got an appointment!"
"Yes I have, I just booked myself in, its with Dr Nice at 4:15"
"Well if you've booked yourself in, you've disappeared off my screen. What do you want?"
"To have my temperature taken?"
"We don't do that anymore, haven't done it for ages. Go and take a seat"

Day 3 (Monday)
Arrive book myself in, sanitise, go and take a seat in the waiting area.
"Come over here, I need to take your temperature"
I present myself at the desk and have my temperature taken.
"You'll have to take your mask off and use one of ours, yours is not compliant"
I take a mask from the box on the desk and put it on.
The following is delivered with withering scorn
"You've got it on inside out, turn it over"
Somehow I manage to refrain from pointing out that I only put it on the way I did because that's how she was wearing hers . . . . .

Gosh, that sounds a lot like my practice.
So funny about the mask and the conflicting temperature thing! Typical. They make you feel like liars don't they?
It's a conspiracy , I'm sure of it.

It's just yours

I'm seriously thinking about getting a BodyCam - if only to prove to myself that I'm not going mad . . .

@rslsys

I'm seriously thinking about getting a BodyCam - if only to prove to myself that I'm not going mad . . .

I would! It also goes to show that being ' covid secure' is just lip service , mostly!

Not only do I have to cope with a difficult receptionist, our pharmacy assistant is an absolute bloody nightmare! Hate being ill!

The one at my current GP is awful, very unnecessarily hostile and beyond difficult. at the previous surgery, one was incredibly nice (I always used to hope it was her I'd get through to) and the other one was really unpleasant- downright patronising at times and could be quite confrontational/argumentative

I find it offensive too. I was in work at 7.45 this morning to get the over 80's vaccinated. There were 150 on our list and bar about 5 I could greet each one by name even with them wearing masks. I was given a box of chocolates by one and a kitchen gadget he had bought me from a conversation we had in 2019.

If I can I will go the extra mile and treat patients like they are friends, listening to them chatting away even though we are busy, we are sometimes the only person they speak to even though it's something mundane like ordering a prescription.

Mine have been exactly as you describe. Yanbu. Its a constant battle.

@Angrymum22

I have always found that staff are pleasant to pleasant patients. If you always find receptionists unpleasant maybe you need to rethink your approach.

The patients I see are perfectly pleasant. Let’s not shift the focus.

Seems worth noting that the jobs that attract so much in the way of insults and criticism just happen to be ones that are almost always those done by women and are ones where they have undoubtedly been given instructions to carry out by people who earn significantly more than them. Particularly in terms of the complaints that they're uppity, need to know their place, etc.

I've always thought I saw a different pattern, which is that some GP's and school receptionists appear to think that they inherit some sort of significant status due to working for people who are highly respected in the community, somehow entitling them to be rude and bossy to the less important people (the patients/parents).

As some others have said, though, I think it's improving as younger staff take the place of older ones.

I have had no problem with GP receptionists however I did make a complaint on behalf of someone else once basically I had an appointment at 11pm at 11.30 I hadn't been seen, which I had no problems with as I know they often run late, any way this elderly gentleman shuffles in, I heard the receptionist shout at him as he was late, he tried to tell her his lift had been late and was very sorry, she told him he had to wait until the end of surgery and IF the GP had time he would get seen he tried to tell her that someone was outside waiting for him but she wouldn't even allow him to go outside to explain

He sat down opposite and my horror he started to CRY so I had a word with him, seems that his appointment was with my GP at 11.10 (so after me) so he could still have been seen, I approached the receptionist and asked her to give him my appointment and I would wait, she told me to sit down, anyway the GP came into reception and called me in so once again asked if the man could have my appointment and explained he had someone waiting for him, GP told me to go into his examination room and he would sort it out.

I asked him if the man was going to be seen and he assured me he would be called in after me, after my appointment I sat and waited until the GP called him in, I do understand if the surgery was running on time it would have caused problems but they were already running late

I think like most things there are some lovely ones and some bloody awful ones. I do also think it feels worse because when you are contacting a gp you are often unwell or worried and it feels worse.

I've had wonderful ones who went the extra mile to help. I've also seen horrible experiences. In one case my DP brother was having a serious MH crisis and is autistic.....through a very long involved situation I ended up driving him to a walk in surgery ( whom his welsh gp was also contacting it was quite a complex situation) . There was a specific reason why it was important that he tried to book in himself so I hovered nearby and the woman who spoke to him was truly disgusting. She raised her voice and told him he needed to speak up and look her in the eye if he wanted help. I stepped in at this point and explained quietly he was autistic so could not look her in the eye and she huffed and said "Oh for gods sake" until she looked up and saw my lanyard with ID which happened to show what I did for a living which happened to be something that was inclined to cause her to take notice (Sheer accident I had dashed out of work to do this and happened to have literally just that second taken my coat off and put on a chair) never have I lost so much instant respect as she did a 180 and spoke to me like I was heaven sent. I put in a vociferous complaint. It shouldn't matter who I am or was rather , and the situations was entirely personal , it had nothing to do with my job.

The fact that she thought it was ok to be vile to someone insanely vulnerable until she thought there were consequences told me all I needed to know about her. No it wasn't busy , and no I've spent a very long time specifically in roles where you get huge amounts of stress and giant amounts of people being abusive and aggressive (part of the role) and it's never ok to be vile to someone , that is absolutely no excuse. I've had chairs thrown at me , been spat at and that's the low end ....I have never taken it out on people who need to use the service , never.

The good ones are brilliant , there Is no excuse for the bad ones.

I think it is probably management led.

Before you speak to one of our GP receptionist you have to listen to a taped message which begins 'This is Dr speaking, you will now speak to one of our medically trained receptionists..." spoken with such clipped distain towards you the patient, you honestly have to hear it to believe it. You then get through to a receptionist to be met with the same level of distain.

The strange thing is the receptionist turnover is extremely rapid so I wonder how medically trained they could possibly be?

My doctor's receptionist are very good. Always friendly and helpful. However, when taking an elderly neighbour to her appointment I found that all receptionists are not always like that. I was horrified to hear this receptionist shout very intrusive questions down the phone and to patients registering at the desk. All clearly audible in the waiting area. Then when my neighbour tried to make a return appointment as requested by the doctor for later in the week, she was told to ring for an appointment on the day with no guarantee that she would get an appointment with that doctor. Needless to say I couldn't let this pass and after a few words she flounced off to see the doctor, only to return with an appointment printed out. No apology of course

Maybe you have an attitude when you call so they bounce of that. Mine are lovely.

If the service is so bad and the receptionist are rude, put in a complaint! Maybe that's why mine are nice I wouldn't be spoken to rudely I'd complain every time 😂 never have had to at the drs though.

MissMarple you think that there's enough people who have an attitude when they call the GP, and only when they call the GP, and therefore have problems with GP receptionists but never with other receptionists, for GP receptionists to get an unfounded reputation for being rude and difficult?

Some are really rude, some are lovely. I have been brought to tears by one at our local surgery and just walked out in the end. however when I was feeling extremely depressed and was crying once and just couldn't get my words out, another was lovely, really caring.

I've been at three different surgeries, and all the receptionists have been lovely. The second one, when I was having all my babies, were particularly good if I needed one of the little ones seeing asap. As you can imagine I was there quite a lot with four pregnancies and small children. I remember once going in and asking for an appointment and being sternly told to sit down, I'd be seen immediately as I looked so bad (I had pneumonia).

When we moved away and had to change surgeries, they have been fabulous too, however, my DS moved when he went to university and has had unbelievable hassle from his surgery receptionists. One was so nasty to him I took the phone off him but she was even horrid to me when I took over the call, no empathy whatsoever. He had mental health issues during lockdown and was at home with us to sort him out. She was trying to make him drive thirty miles to the practice to get his prescription instead of just posting it to our nearest chemist. In lockdown. Even when the local Pharmacist got involved for us, she was unbending, till I spoke to the practice manager.

I got an apology from the practice manager for him and they've changed their procedures. Unfortunately she's still there...

I find it rude when calling for an appointment they ask what's wrong with... I'll tell that to the doctor with the PhD, not the secretary with the phone thanks

Do medical doctors have a PhD? I thought it was an honorary title.

But on that note when the receptionists refers to the GP as Sarah, Ben or Caroline she (or he) may refer to me as Roses. For as long as the receptionist refers to the GPs as Dr Brown, Dr Jones and Dr Smiff she or he may refer to me as Mrs Hellebores. It's basic equality and courtesy.

My doctors are lovely and helpful but the receptionists are so rude.

@Oysterbabe thats brilliant