Aibu to not want to discuss my private health with doctor receptionists

[Jasmine00]

I'm so sick of calling my doc surgery and having to explain to the receptionist my ailments especially as they are mostly endometriosis related. Sometimes they even try and give advice back. Arggggg I hate it.
Doesn't help that I live in a small village and these are the people I see on a daily basis either

'A receptionist is just as much a professional working as the GP. Yes they are not medically qualified, and as such shouldn't give out medical advise, but the receptionist cares no more or less about your gynae problems than the GP. And is no more or less likely to judge than any medical professional. '

Yes, they should change their job title to health care assistant or something really to prevent this confusion. Receptionists are bound by confidentiality and privacy rules and are no more likely to blab about medical issues in the playground than a practice nurse or GP is.

@brokendark it's a two tiered system.

I pay but I claim it back through my health insurance and tax.

@bestdhever so yes private insurance. Of course, a GP would try and see you quickly as they get paid for it. If it ends up you cant claim back, it doesn't affect them, they have still been paid.

I agree OP. Last time I called for an appointment the receptionist was being obstructive so I felt I had no choice but to say what the issue was. She responded by reading out the GP notes of my appointment completely unprompted as if to say I was fine at the time of the last appointment so clearly I didn't need an appointment (I really cannot think of any other reason why she felt the need to read out my notes). My notes are now restricted.

I have little empathy for how busy receptionists have been during covid because at my GP practice they have always been awful, combative, rude people. I get anxious at the thought of dealing with them.

I do sympathise, as I was told by our GP receptionist that severe constipation for 10 days after miscarriage surgery under GA was not urgent enough for the GP. If I had listened to her opinion and not insisted on an appointment I would have been very unwell.

But at the same time they need to check if people are ringing with an issue that can be dealt with by a nurse/ pharmacist. Plus GPs are also supposed to be vaccinating 1million people per day...

When I'd say I'm suffering from the effects of my spinal headache, they'd often say 'have you tried paracetamol/ibuprofen' just because they've heard the word 'headache.'

On the other hand it’s a standard history question, not medical advice . Knowing if you’ve tried or taken painkillers already means the GP knows if it responds or not, and tells them a lot about the type of pain.

I used to be a hospital receptionist and yes we did triage to an extent. Normally you take details and short history and sit down in waiting area. If I thought something warranted seeing sooner I’d sent then straight through to a nurse/dr. Occasionally people do turn up with obviously broken limbs and tell you their “arm hurts” and it’s not till they walk away and you see it.

Nobody minds telling hospital receptionists what’s wrong when they ask though? I never had anyone tell me they’d rather not say or ask if I thought I was a dr when I asked.

@LampLighter414

Does anyone actually like their GP receptionist?

I have not seen a good word said by a patient about them in many years.

Our GP surgery receptionists are lovely. Kind, helpful, sympathetic and efficient

But, I'm a private person, and I don't like their new role as gatekeeper

I accept it (reluctantly) because I understand GPs are rushed off their feet and some info passed on via receptionist helps them to prioritise appointments

But it is not patient centred

If someone is gossiping about your condition you report them on writing. Even if it’s congratulating you on pregnancy in public. I live in a village and no one at the doctors would do this, so not Normal in my experience

YANBU. I've had test results read and advice & diagnosis given (no treatment necessary) by a doc's receptionist. She didn't make it clear this was her own bloody uninformed opinion; only months later did the doc query why I hadn't had treatment.

GPs receptionists either need far more training so that they can actually advise and diagnose, or they need to be taught that they are not capable of this.

It seems to be a 'thing' now that people get their knickers in a twist about this. It is to direct you to the correct person - some patients always want to see a GP when the nurse will do. Some patients will ask for an appointment with the nurse when it's the advanced nurse practitioner that they need. Some patients have questions about medication that they for some reason think they must speak to a GP about - their local pharmacist can do that. The receptionist asking these questions is a way of directing people appropriately. If they didn't do that then you'd be waiting at least twice as long on a GP appointment because they are being taken up inappropriately. You don't always need to go into great detail - "mental health" or "medication query" is enough. They may need you to elaborate but it's not to be nosy - they are part of the healthcare team.

As for gynae problems, they hear them 100 times a day and don't really give a hoot as to what is wrong with you just want to get you seen by the right person, I can imagine you expecting judgement if you e got the hoover stick up your hoo ha but otherwise its perfectly normal run if the mill stuff to them. As soon as they put the phone down you're ailments will be forgotten

@VitalsStable All of that is true, but in my case, my issue isn't how the receptionist feels about hearing my medical history, it's how I feel about them hearing it

A patient rang yesterday just to thank me for enabling a Doctor to prescribe antibiotics last Friday because he felt without them he would be in a terrible position. He didn't have to ring at all.

I've been doing the job 12 years and was told very early on not to give advice which I don't. I ask questions like for example when was the last time Calpol was given just to pass info into the GP about a child who has a high temperature.

When booking people in for Ask My GP I ask if it's a new or existing problem and would they briefly like to tell me what the problem is. Expecting them to say uti or bad back I then get the full story without prompting.

I stand by "If I can do it for you then I will. If I can't I will explain why". I get told to fuck off a lot less than my colleagues. In fact I don't think a patient has said it to me at all but I've been threatened with rape though.

@julieca they have NO IDEA when I book whether I am covered by health insurance. They do not discriminate in that way. It is a family practice for all families in our town...they don't details of payment before you attend.

So your feelings about them hearing about your gynae problems come from where? If not how they feel about them?

I'm in Ireland so it's different I know, if I want to see the GP I call and make an appointment, that's it! If it isn't for a day or two but I want/ need to be seen sooner I'd tell them what's wrong and they'd try fit me in that day.

At uni the doctor was free and we had to tell the receptionist what was wrong and sorted accordingly, you could be waiting over a week for an appointment if they didn't deem it too important. I hated it though.

@julieca are GP's in the U.K. not paid regardless? Who pays them? The nhs? Whether they see anyone or not they still get paid yes?

I work in a hospital and have to go through GP records for most of my patients.

Here are some recent use of appointments I've seen:

• 1 mouth ulcer
• infected toenail
• wanted an appointment to say sorry she accused the dr of not being able to read the previous day, she had read the info leaflet of her tablets and realised the dr was right.
• wanted advice on not getting on very well with their adult daughter
• review of a mole that turned out to be something which had washed off by the time the dr called.

The receptionists need to be able to identify queries like these and sort them from the ones that cant wait. YABU.

@SandingWithMyUnshavenLegs

I was told by a receptionist, when I presented at the surgery worried about my inability to take a deep breath, that I probably have indigestion, and needed Gaviscon, not a doctor’s appointment.

When I pushed it and saw the GP five minutes later, I was diagnosed with a probable pulmonary embolism and told I didn’t have time to wait for an ambulance, and to get driven to the hospital immediately.

It was a dreadful time, the diagnosis was confirmed in hospital and I was very ill despite the quick diagnosis and treatment. I dread to think what would have happened if I had listened to the the receptionist!

So, although this experience is not representative of the many good receptionists, it could have killed me. Always trust your instincts.

Now I would have put in a complaint about this. This is different to receptionists simply asking so they can signpost appropriately - this is giving medical advice which shouldn't be given by anyone but the doctor or nurse. I hope you followed up.

@Bratzybaby - If you need clarification, I think this bit of your initial post was particularly patronizing: I know they have good intentions bless them but the advice they give doesn't apply to my condition.

Everybody wants to see their GP and believe their case is priority. In a large majority of time it isn't. Many appointments can be dealt with on the phone but patients want the attention of the GP face to face. This leads to GPs seeing people who could be dealt with by other professionals or via telephone whilst those who really need a face to face appointment can't get one.

@Jasmine00

It's harder because these receptionists I see at school, local shops and local places. Do I really want these people to have to know about my gynae issues, not really! In a city you are more anonymous so I don't think this would be such an issue

I live rurally. 2 of the mums at school have looked up my vagina when I had dodgy cell's, they are both Dr's at the surgery. I go dog walking with one of them. It's It's big deal.if you make it a big deal.

You don't have to go into huge detail with receptionists. They need to know if it is routine/same issue already on your records/a new issue/a worrying development etc.

They can already read your medical records.

[quote bestdhever]@julieca are GP's in the U.K. not paid regardless? Who pays them? The nhs? Whether they see anyone or not they still get paid yes?[/quote]
Not paid per appointment but also not paid a standard amount regardless. More about the work they do.

I suspect a private health system compensates more, which probably improves the service. Plus stops time wasters, which removes demand on the service. I do hear of friends calling for daft reasons! Last week was conjunctivitis, for example.

[quote bestdhever]@julieca are GP's in the U.K. not paid regardless? Who pays them? The nhs? Whether they see anyone or not they still get paid yes?[/quote]
They get paid a lot more for hitting certain targets though.

The trouble is in many cases the line between taking information and giving advise is blurred. My ds has a condition which occasionally flares up, when it does he needs to see the doctor, every single time for about two years the receptionist would argue and say that he needed a nurse appointment. I hate to make a fuss so we would see the nurse , who would immediately say that he needed to see the Doctor. The surgery is lovely and would usually fit him in . But on one occasion the receptionist actually argued with the nurse in the reception area, it was only when the Dr put a note on his records saying that he needed to see a Dr that this merry go round ceased.

Of course for many people she was right but he was the exception and this is where problems can happen, a little knowledge can be dangerous both for the patient and the receptionist. i cannot imagine how heavily this responsibility must weigh on the receptionists, I would not want to do this and certainly not for the amount they are paid.