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?

So what many of the receptionists are saying is that they are following doctors orders. One has then to question why the doctors (a supposed intellectual elite) don’t sort out the admin so it works better for everyone in their small businesses from which they profit.

Average GP salary about £80k. There are about 16 GP’s at my practice. Just think how much service would be better if they invested more in their admin systems and staff. It wouldn’t kill them to take a small percentage less profit.

I was a GP receptionist for a while. The stress is horrendous. I used to cringe picking up the phone because more often than not, the first thing you'd hear was someone swearing and shouting at you. It was horrible. I didn't have it in me to be rude back, so I moved on to another job. The ladies who had worked there for years and years had very thick skin, and were rather abrasive but I can imagine that decades of being sworn and shouted at, glass at reception pounded on, demands for doctors who won't give you enough appointments, and not much pay for the privilege you'd also be a bit shitty as well.

“Unfortunately there are people who believe their minor ailments are a top priority for the doctors and this is why we have to decide a sensible use of the doctors time.“

Is that actually your role as a GP receptionist, @hashbrownsandwich? Surely you’re not trained to triage?

I do get the appointment thing. I've been there when there simply isn't a suitable appointment available and no matter how nicely you try to tell the person they think you're being rude because you can't give them what they want.

Because they think they can get away with it now, because we all love the NHS.

I was sitting in the practice reception, waiting to be seen by my GP (pre-COVID), when someone came running inside asking for a doctor as a woman had collapsed outside in the street and was having a seizure.

I kid you not, the receptionist asked “Are they a patient?”

I think they send them on courses to be as unhelpful, incompetent and rude as possible
Grow up.
That is an absoute dick comment.

@Vivi0

I was sitting in the practice reception, waiting to be seen by my GP (pre-COVID), when someone came running inside asking for a doctor as a woman had collapsed outside in the street and was having a seizure.

I kid you not, the receptionist asked “Are they a patient?”

Sounds sensible, if she was about to ring the doctor it makes sense for her to be able to tell them if it's someone known to them, maybe she wanted to know whether to call through for a particular doctor (the persons family GP) or maybe she was going to open her notes for the doctor/ get her personal details ready for the ambulance/ hospital or whatever.

I'm not a medical receptionist but it does annoy me the abuse they get for just doing their jobs. Just because you don't understand why they do certain things, doesn't mean they shouldn't be doing them.

[quote RosesAndHellebores]@spurs4ever you have misunderstood. The prescription was never sent to the pharmacy, it was given to another patient who realised a fortnight later and brought it to my house. A severe breach of personal data notwithstanding the fact that a prescription for a class B drug should be signed for.

And actually when a service provider totally screws up and causes me significant inconvenience and loss of time, yes I do expect the service provider to sort out their error and take the hit on their time. If that happened GP surgeries might be a little better organised administratively.[/quote]
Ah sorry I thought you'd said it went to the pharmacy.
In any case, that error could've been sorted out by reprinting the prescription but the GP will still need to sign it - so you would have to wait if they were busy. An easy way to avoid this in future is have your prescriptions sent electronically to a pharmacy of your choice.

My gps receptionists are now absolutely lovely and helpful BUT my old gps ones were awful!! So rude and horrible, my whole family went to the same gps and all agreed, it put me off ever going to the doctors, I'd have to psych myself up for days just to go in and collect a repeat prescription, it was ridiculous! Luckily I moved away and have a different doctors now!

Many I have come across are rude - I wonder if they feel they are in some way owed similar respect as the doctors they so fiercely guard? That doesn’t bother/affect me (aside from their demanding to know my symptoms, so they can ‘decide’ if I’m allowed to see a doctor, despite my visits being around twice every decade), so much as their antediluvian working practises...there are at least 3 on duty at any one time yet they insist on taking a ‘lunch hour’ and shutting phone lines - no other service or industry has done this since the 1950s...they also insist you phone every day, on the off chance that results of tests have arrived, rather than proactively ringing - or even emailing/texting! - you as they know when results arrive and who they are for, but are too ‘busy’ (probably answering calls to tell people their results have not yet arrived) or un-pro-active to deal with this efficiently. I have been with same practise for 10 years so maybe in that time others have improved...I am sure there are many receptionists out there who are efficient, kind and proficient in modern working practices, unfortunately mine confirm to the mean-spirited, outdated stereotype.

Ive come across a few rude and unhelpful GP receptionists, on one (of only 2/3) occasions even my dr said that the receptionists could be ‘over zealous’ but generally theyve all been very professional and pleasant

We also have a triage nurse system which is incredibly helpful as it means that the receptionist only needs to find out the basic reason you are ringing and will arrange for the nurse to call back who will either give advice, book a nurses appointment or book a doctors appointment

Mine are angels. So helpful.

I’ve been to five different doctors surgeries as an adult, usually go a few times a year (sometimes more) as have long term MH issues. I have never encountered rude receptionists. I have however seen several patients being rude to the receptionist!

@hashbrownsandwich

Why would you be offended by her post?
The receptionists she has came across have been very rude and unhelpful. She's telling us about her experience with them, That's not saying that you personally are.
My personal experience of surgery receptionists are exact same as OP but again that's not saying anything against you personally.
This is the problem nowadays far too many people get offended far too easily.

The receptionists at my maternity place are lovely, at my gp, not so much, but they're not nearly as bad as DHs appointments are for the elderly only apparently and DH was ridiculous to ask for a vaccination before a holiday

I was in a gp surgery for a few years - the main receptionist was an absolute wanker. You could tell she hated her job and hated everyone approaching her. She could not have been more unhelpful if she tried. I had just moved to England, I had a young baby and I just thought “this is the NHS, it’s free so you get what you pay for”. I started going private.

I moved house a year or two later and registered at the local surgery. Total opposite! A team of really helpful, lovely ladies working their socks off.
You’ve just hit a bad surgery OP!

I'm unfailingly polite to customer service staff, partly because, well, they're human beings and deserve respect, and partly because I'm far more likely to get what I need from them. Even really important and stressful stuff, it tends to all go smoothly. I never lose my temper, because what should be the point?

I say unfailingly. The only time I've ever lost control and made a snotty comment (saying "Shall we have a little bit of competence?" in response to "Shall we have a little bit of calm?") was with a GP receptionist accusing me of being mistaken and then of lying while refusing to look at the text message from them that backed me up. I think some GP receptionists have been accidentally sent on escalation courses instead of de-escalation courses, where they learn the precise tone of voice and type of thing to say that'll rile up even the calmest, most conflict-averse person.

One of the receptionists at mine is lovely, really helpful and pleasant. One isnt so much, but they are the gatekeepers to the GP so I persist with being polite and friendly. The practice nurse is awful, really horrible and I have actually asked not to see her however she is the only one who can do smear tests so I do need to see her once every 3months presently (she is actually the wife of one of the GPs - she told me this & whilst I was in asked me if I would consider botox as she was a qualified aesthetics nurse also) I am awaiting a call back from my GP from last tuesday - luckily I'm not at deaths door. I also have to tell the receptionist my issue so they can try & decide which priority I am on the list for a call back which is fine and sensible ( I have found a breast lump so would like to be seen pretty soon) I don't know if I'm just unlucky but the whole service is a bit rubbish imo. Even worse now during COVID but not especially great before.

Both mine and my husbands surgery have extremely rude receptionists and what’s more since covid have also taken to giving out wildly wrong information which seems based on their personal opinion of what the rules should be rather than what the rules actually are, you have to battle to speak to a Dr to get the correct advice but nothing is ever done to stop them spouting their nonsense to start with. Many won’t bother arguing and not speak to a GP to get the right advice.

The receptionists at my current GP are lovely and helpful, never had any problems with them.

The receptionists at my previous GP were just awful. So rude and unhelpful and they’re the reason I left! I’d been with the same GP surgery from being a baby, so 29 years at that point, and it had always been shit; so once I’d registered at my new GP, I left a bad review on Google. They sent me a long-winded letter telling me how unreasonable and wrong I was for the review and said I should leave if I’m not happy. It was so bizarre

Our new surgery has the loviest receptionists I always am shocked by how helpful and kind they are

One receptionist, who was messaging a doctor to see if I needed an appointment, told me "it can't be that important, the doctor has left now". I was having a miscarriage.

DH managed to persuade another receptionist to, grudgingly, have an appointment later that day. He missed the appointment as by the time it came round he was in hospital, where Lyme's disease was diagnosed.

I got a series of snotty letters from a third practice. First threatening to take me off their lists as I hadn't supplied the forms etc. Not only had I supplied them, I made a point of going through them with the reception at the time to ensure I had supplied everything they needed. Apparently it had been put on one system but not the other.

Second snotty letter was to accuse me of supplying a false address as a smear reminder had been returned. In fact they had addressed to my childhood address, which I had never given them, so goodness only knows how they got it.

I'm genuinely baffled as to how anyone actually gets to see a doctor.

Admin in the whole NHS needs reform. Systems are outdated, no email, still using fax machines etc...
Dealing with the public is not easy, more should needed. In every surgery you should be able to make your appointment online and check yourself in. It would free up more of the staff's time.

Ours are lovely. I made a point of emailing the practice manager to praise them (and the nurse who was equally kind and reassuring) after they went out of their way to help me earlier this year.
I think some people try to be assertive to keep control of the conversation and end up being rude and aggressive. I've seen it with supermarket workers (particularly during lockdown) as well.