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

@ReeseWitherfork and as you will see from my post the GP did see him and luckily was empathetic enough to understand that people often find medical things hard to discuss, especially men. My retired GP stepfather often said that it was only as they were leaving the room that they would finally tell you why they were really there.

Not everybody lets it all hang out, lots of people are very private and often scared. Goodness I am pretty confident and in my fifties but I still put off going to see a GP about a suspicious mole because I just wanted it to go away and because I was scared of wasting the GPs time and because it just might be something serious that I didn't want to think about. Seems silly but I don't think I am unusual. My friend felt odd and lost weight, she died 8 weeks after first noticing, of a rare cancer. How lucky she was that her GP took her vague and somewhat unconnected symptoms seriously, she couldn't be saved but she did get a couple of extra months to be with her young children. She could quite easily have been fobbed off with aspirin, she didn't like to make a fuss.

Mumsnet is full of people telling you not to waste the doctors time. Sadly I think the problem is that the people who often heed this advice are the very people who should see a doctor. In reality most GPs understand that it's not always easy for people to talk about their health, especially older people and that often people just have a vague sense that somethings not right . Is healthcare now only for extroverts?

@TractorAndHeadphones

Sorry if I've missed something but why are receptionists triaging? What could they possibly know about medicine? I can understand them needing details to pass on to the doctor, or write in the appointment details but that's it. They should not be gatekeeping!

seems they are and if you don't give them your warts and all GP relegates you to bottom of pile. Its disgusting

@Peaseblossum22 can't reply as not really sure I understand what point you're making. But nevermind. The system clearly worked for your dad, and I'm glad he got seen.

The point I'm making is that just because people don't feel confident talking about their health does not make their problem less serious. My father was seen partly because his fab GP realised that it was so unusual for him to visit the Dr that he must be worried.and could be serious. It was very serious but he just could not have brought himself to talk about it, the GP by the way was a women, (not from Church!) , but because she was a GP he felt confident that he could be open, its like she wasn't a person she was a Dr, if that makes sense.

Why would I expect a GP and receptionist to have the same standards with respect to privacy?

Sure they're both supposed to keep stuff private, but what do they have to lose if they don't, and someone complains?

The GP on the one hand could get struck off, have their licence take away and have the years maybe decades of training and experience suddenly unusable to them from an employment perspective as they may then have to seek employment in a different field.

A GP's receptionist will lose what? Their ability to work in a GPs surgery? It's not the 7 years of medical school, years of clinical, years of exams to become a doctor, even all the investment before that to get the grades to get into medical school that they'd be throwing away.
They could become a receptionist in another field that is not medical.

A GP has a hell of a lot more to lose by disclosing medical details inappropriately than a receptionist does.

@SometimesRavenSometimesParrot

Curious as to why people are saying GPs and receptionists are held to the same professional standards…GPs are registered and could be struck off for unprofessional, ruining their career. They’ve also probably trained for ten years +. Receptionists are not comparable - worst case if they gossip they get sacked

Exactly!

Of course you should say less to a receptionist than you would to a GP.

Your a GP you have one appointment left ... One set of notes the receptionist has noted information that could potentially lead to a cancer diagnosis ...the other set of notes has nothing as the patient didn't want to note what the issue was ....which patient do you prioritize!

GPs / nurses can only triage using the info they have ...

But equally @peaseblossum22 health professionals are mind readers. They can be good at getting information out of worried, anxious people. But if they never opened up to the health care professional then the GP can't do anything

Lots of people will put off going to the GP if they are worried they have cancer, whether they are able to tell the receptionist they have a suspicious mole or not. But in order for the NHS to work efficiently it has to have a triage system and they cannot have GPs answering the phones. Fortunately some medical knowledge is used in triage and your father was triage by his GP appropriately. Your father was seen because they Gp had an appropriate triage system and part of this is being able to tell receptionists what's wrong

You are conflating someone being anxious about their health and not being able to tell the receptionist a rough idea of what they need. This has nothing to do with their GP listening to them, or vague symptoms. It's just that its more helpful for everyone if people can give some info so they can be seen appropriately

If not and you just book everyone in on a first come first served basis your father might not have been able to be seen by his GP because a load of ingrown toenails and verrucas were booked in ahead of him.

Above was in reply to @milly74

I have had some health issues recently and had some blood tests. The receptionist rang me to say there was a problem with my liver and I needed to book an appointment. So I saw my GP a few days later and she said said there was no problem with my liver, I just had a bacterial infection at the time which had affected my liver test. She was not sure why I had been given an appointment, as she had already prescribed antibiotics for the infection.

I have also just been put on HRT. When I saw the nurse to have my blood pressure checked and to weigh me she said to book a telephone appointment when I had one packet of the pills left. So I did as she asked and the receptionist argued with me that I didn't need this and she could just put the tablets on a repeat prescription and I needed to wait until I had a weeks worth of tablets left before she could do this. I asked her whose advice I should take on this, her advice or the advice of the nurse. She went away to talk to someone and then came back and booked me a telephone appointment to speak to a nurse.

And finally my mother's sister was a receptionist at our surgery. She looked at my medical records and told my mother certain things about my health. Things I did not want my mother to know about. So I wrote a letter to the surgery and she was sacked. Harsh, but fair.

Receptionists are human beings, the same as the rest of us. They are just as capable of cocking up and they are just as capable of gossiping and breaching confidentiality.

The problem with this system is that if a receptionist makes it difficult for someone to book an appointment then that could have serious consequences for that patient. I have clients that would not push for an appointment and these same clients do not want to discuss personal matters with the receptionist. So they end up not booking anything, as they don't want to "put the doctor out". I am talking about older people in their late 80s and early 90s.

This system is not fair on the receptionists, because if someone dies, or becomes seriously unwell, as a result of not being seen then they are going to feel awful. It's also not fair on patients who want to discuss their personal medical matters with their doctor and not with someone who is sitting in an open plan waiting room.

@KeepApart

But equally *@peaseblossum22* health professionals are mind readers. They can be good at getting information out of worried, anxious people. But if they never opened up to the health care professional then the GP can't do anything

Lots of people will put off going to the GP if they are worried they have cancer, whether they are able to tell the receptionist they have a suspicious mole or not. But in order for the NHS to work efficiently it has to have a triage system and they cannot have GPs answering the phones. Fortunately some medical knowledge is used in triage and your father was triage by his GP appropriately. Your father was seen because they Gp had an appropriate triage system and part of this is being able to tell receptionists what's wrong

You are conflating someone being anxious about their health and not being able to tell the receptionist a rough idea of what they need. This has nothing to do with their GP listening to them, or vague symptoms. It's just that its more helpful for everyone if people can give some info so they can be seen appropriately

If not and you just book everyone in on a first come first served basis your father might not have been able to be seen by his GP because a load of ingrown toenails and verrucas were booked in ahead of him.

on what basis do receptionists have medical qualifications they shouldn't be triaging!!!!!

Well exactly @dreamingofginocloxk

If you've for someone who says 'I'm coughing up blood regualrly' and someone who says personal problem you are going to book in the coughing up blood. Although there's a chance personal problem needs to be seen urgently, we 100% know patient 1 needs booking in, and you cant just guess that person 2 has something seriously wrong. They could just as easily have thrush

The best thing as patients we can do is advocate for our own health and tell the receptionist why we need to be seen. Not trick them or over exaggerate, just clear couple of words.

No @milly74 they are collecting the info for triage

I had an argument pre-Covid with a receptionist who didn't want to let me book an appointment for an MMR I'd missed out on as a child.

Finally she booked me an appointment so that I could argue with the nurse instead - who obviously just gave me the jab I was entitled to.

Some receptionists are lovely, some are dreadful.

[quote bratzybaby]@Auntieobem how is that patronising? GP receptionists are not doctors, this isn't a secret. In my surgery, when you say your issue they'll try to give advice they think is suitable. 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.' Yet a spinal headache is caused by low pressure in the brain, paracetamol/ibuprofen does nothing to help that.

They're clearly trying to help which is appreciated but they don't understand the condition because they're simply not doctors. That's not patronising at all[/quote]
You've assumed the silly receptionists dont understand big words. You sound like a dick.

@KeepApart

No *@milly74* they are collecting the info for triage

that's semantics is that how they get away with doing an unqualified role?

They're part of the team

@KeepApart

Well exactly *@dreamingofginocloxk*

If you've for someone who says 'I'm coughing up blood regualrly' and someone who says personal problem you are going to book in the coughing up blood. Although there's a chance personal problem needs to be seen urgently, we 100% know patient 1 needs booking in, and you cant just guess that person 2 has something seriously wrong. They could just as easily have thrush

The best thing as patients we can do is advocate for our own health and tell the receptionist why we need to be seen. Not trick them or over exaggerate, just clear couple of words.

Totally agree. They're part of the medical team. People need to understand this.

I do think this is particularly difficult for older patients and many will just give up on trying to be seen. It makes me sad, so many people I work with were brought up in the era when you didn’t question the doctor , they hate bothering people and these systems whilst completely understandable are another barrier for the introverted and private. This generation were not brought up to advocate for their own health. On the other hand it’s a gift to the ‘worried well’ who are more than happy to gas onto the receptionist about their suspicious symptoms.

I totally get your point OP. I have been waiting in my old doctor’s waiting room very close to to the receptionist on the phone. The receptionist insisted on repeating out loud the name, date of birth and medical condition of the patient-it happened to be someone I knew. Some receptionists are very poorly trained and some discuss patients confidential information to their friends. It does happen, although it really shouldn’t! Fortunately, my new GP’s surgery is much better.

on what basis do receptionists have medical qualifications they shouldn't be triaging!!!!!

@milly74 do you seriously think A&E receptionists have medical qualifications? Or 999 call handlers? They have necessary training, just like anyone triaging in a GP practice will. Some of them aren't actually triaging, they're just putting down a sentence for the GP. Mine always ask after they've booked the appointment, so they're definitely not even pretending to triage.

I always wonder if people would feel the same if GP receptionists were predominately male. Personally I don't see why you think you're interesting enough for them to lose their job over.

I'm in Ireland and I have to say my Drs surgery and the receptionist are amazing.
So kind and have went above and beyond for me.
And I don't pay as I have a medical card.

@Peaseblossum22

I do think this is particularly difficult for older patients and many will just give up on trying to be seen. It makes me sad, so many people I work with were brought up in the era when you didn’t question the doctor , they hate bothering people and these systems whilst completely understandable are another barrier for the introverted and private. This generation were not brought up to advocate for their own health. On the other hand it’s a gift to the ‘worried well’ who are more than happy to gas onto the receptionist about their suspicious symptoms.

Hardly worried well when you can call at 11.30am, say 'I've found a lump' and get an appointment during the lunchbreak when there are no routine appointments for the next month and all the urgent ones went by 8.02am.

Or my DP could call at 12.06pm to say my DB was in hdu after having his brain turned to mush by a car and he thought I needed some help as I hadn't slept for 52 hours and had just got back from the hospital after the organ donor conversation. Got called by the GP five minutes later to say how sorry he was and did I want help/something to help me sleep/a referral.

Why would I expect a GP and receptionist to have the same standards with respect to privacy?
Because neither give a shit about your medical conditions. They've heard it all. They really really couldn't care less.

I really don't get this 'I don't talk about my medical issues with receptionists'. What makes someone think they are so important the receptionist is going to care and get excited at the idea of sharing the info any more than the GP?