I’m a GP receptionist and prepared to be honest about my job.

[TwistedSisterUK]

Hi all, as title says, I’m a Gp receptionist. After reading all the irate, insulting, rude and misinformed threads on here I have made this account!

Please feel free to ask me anything and I promise to answer honestly, even though my opinions and thoughts are likely to make me very unpopular here. I’m prepared for it , having read dozens of previous threads where we are called lazy, rude, power mad, bitches and more…..

I have done this job for 12 years, it’s hard work but can be at times extremely rewarding . I work with a great team. My opinions are only about my job, my day to day dealing at the surgery I work in.

First of all, to the ppl who think we just answer phones and ask patients to please take a seat - I wish!! Lol.

I deal with chemists, pharmacists,hospital secretaries, emails, post, 100s of clinical letters and test reports, arrange all referrals, do all test requests, type all clinicians letters, new patient files are refilled, files from patients leaving must be found and returned, clinical letters received are scanned , coded and actioned, translators requests, letters to be typed up and patients to be called to arrange reviews, Imms,smears etc, the loaning out of medical equipment - there’s lots more but hopefully you are getting the idea that my job involves far more than answering the odd call.

So, the bits you, the patients see and hear are a small bit of my job.

I have to go out today but will be happy to answer any questions any of you may have but I’ll start the ball rolling here about the “ magically appearing appointments “.

I read a lot of complaints here that you call and there are no appointments….then….lo and behold,….after more conversation an appointment is found! This is because I can put it down as an urgent call. If it is NOT an urgent call I will be reprimanded by my manager and if this continues I would possibly lose my job.

I am simply not allowed to continually add more and more patients to be added as “ extras” They are called extras as there genuinely are no appointments left.

When I return I’ll move on to the why we ask the reason for your call! Please be assured I do not think myself in anyway medically trained nor do I even like asking - I have to ask - it’s my job.

I promise any questions or comments will be answered in all honesty! I’m wearing my hard hat…..lol

My surgery are brilliant for urgent stuff or if you can be totally flexible and sit by the phone all day waiting for a call back. What I can't work out however is how to access more routine non urgent stuff. They don't seem to let you book in advance but same day appointments are for urgent care only???
Also... Telephone appointments. Why can't they give you a rough time?? A 30 minute window maybe?? To say just morning or afternoon is just crazy. I have a issue at the moment which I don't think is urgent but certainly isn't normal and would really like to chat through with a hcp. I missed the call, just couldn't get to my phone quick enough. Call surgery back to basically be told 'tough luck'. I had to beg to get it rebooked.

It's the system that's broken in some surgeries so if you get an unhelpful receptionist that can really tip you over the edge.

I was a GP receptionist myself and noted the majority of my colleagues took great pleasure in not being able to help patients and deliberately wind them up. I enjoyed working with the public and sending them away with a smile which was achieved simply by being sympathetic towards them and agreeing that system was a bit of a mess and often wasted their time instead of ‘well it's not my fault is it!’ that most of my colleagues responded with.

Funny thing to me was the irate patients when doctor was late to begin their shift and all their anger was directed at me with great vitriol. Then when the doctor appeared it was all ‘oh don’t worry about it doctor it's fine.’

I don't know when it became so unacceptable to want me called Mrs or Ms Name or whatever rather than just first name terms being automatic in professional circumstances. Annoys me. It doesn't mean you think you're grand or fancy, it's just manners. In public facing jobs I have always used titles for casual interactions as a mark of respect, and I appreciate getting it in return - though airlines seem to be one of the few places that consistently do. Those who think people who want this consider themselves superior to the person they're talking to - are you really young or something? I'm 35 and old enough to remember when this was a matter of course.

I've been with the same doctors practice for over 20 years and seen receptionists come and go. Never had a bad one, always willing to listen and help. I'm very lucky that my surgery were still seeing patients through the pandemic. I'm ringing them tomorrow to book my b12 jab for next week- it won't be an issue.
It's also a training practice and I think the receptionists deal admirably with doctors not used to knowing how general practice works.
Some receptionists call me by my first name, same ones call the GPS by their first names too

Last time I was at my local GP practice I heard the receptionists making fun of a teenage girl who had not wanted to disclose what she was there for at the desk, infront of the people in the waiting room. They were mocking her after she'd been called in and the whole room could hear them. Suffice to say my local surgery is one of the few with some unpleasant reception staff. The nurses there are absolute angels though!

@Crumbleburntbits

I’ve been horrified at how rude people can be to receptionists. How do you cope when patients are abusive? I know I couldn’t do your job and I’m so grateful for the work that you do

My favourite story from being a GP receptionist is when a patient came in, handed me a sample of his urine, then proceeded to tell me off about the surgery whilst I was holding his p**s. I felt like chucking it in his face.

@Leftbutcameback

Can I ask what the pay is like? (In general of course). I've always assumed it isn't particularly well paid

I was on £6.50/hour doing this job in 2012 and now it's about a tenner an hour.

I’m a Dr, though not a GP. My best friend is a GP and I think they are getting hammered, quite often very unfairly. Most GP’s are not sitting twiddling their thumbs or out on the golf course whilst refusing to see patients. There will be some lazy GP’s, just as with any walk of life, but the vast majority are trying to do their best. Some practices could perhaps be organised differently/better and improvements could be made to appointment systems and so on.

That aside, in the vast majority of cases ARE seeing the same number of patients. Or more than they used to. The data regarding number of patient consults in general practice backs It’s just that demand increases year on year- many reasons for this. For a start, there is a current shortage of GP’s so some surgeries are working short staffed- locum’s are rarely available. We also have a shortage of practice nurses, which doesn’t help matters.

In addition, we have an ageing population with more complex health needs. There is a big backlog in secondary care with the extended waiting times meaning patients are attending their GO as their symptoms are worsening, treatment needing reviewed, because they want reassurance or because they are annoyed/upset/frustrated. Or because they want the GP to try and fast-track them (which they can only do if there is a clinical need).

Due to the pandemic there has also been an upsurge in mental health problems- without adequate resources to send them to so more appointments with GP’s, lots of anxious patients, long covid symptoms… the list goes on.

I shall give you an example. My GP friend- we are registered with their surgery and it’s only one in the area- is getting quite distressed at patient attitudes. Our surgery have been excellent- before and during the pandemic. Pre-pandemic you could usually get an appointment the next day and certainly within 48 hours- if it was urgent then same day. They do minor injuries and we could get home visits with ease. The waiting time for a routine appointment is now between 4-7 days, you can get an urgent appointment on the day still. I have heard quite a few patients complaining that they can’t be seen as quickly as they were before. I know, because of my friend, that the GP’s at our surgery have each added an extra hour- hour and a half of appointments per day, but with extra “urgents” added on it can be a lot longer. That wipes out their admin time- writing or dictating referrals, checking on and acting upon blood test results/consultant letters, writing reports, doing insurance forms, writing letters etc. So they end up working even later. My friend is in the surgery for 7:30 (they open at 8) and is doing 12-13 hours as standard. The reason for this change? Increase demand, for all the reasons mentioned above.

I also know the staff are getting a lot of sarky comments, anger and sometimes abuse about having to wait longer etc- “what ARE you all doing day”, “what has happened to this surgery, you used to be so good”. It’s demoralising for staff and I know some staff are considering leaving- not just the gp’s. My friend has been offered some work as a private GP, for instance. Given the local recruitment issues (2 nearest surgeries have been unable to recruit when partners retired or left), I doubt it will be easy to replace anyone that leaves. Which will place further stress on the system, and the vicious cycle will continue.

With our appointment system you can only get same day appointment (which there is normally none) so you need to phone at 8am everyday to be put on hold for a few hrs to then be told there is no appointments and to try again tomorrow

You can also go through econsult, only thing with this is the nurse/gp will give you a call anytime between 8am and 6pm , this would be fine if you didn’t work full time or work in a secure building, so unable to have your mobile on your person.

On explaining this to the now special measures practice, you then get told to phone everyday…. I’m sure they are a special breed of fookwits!

It’s absolutely absurd and not everyone fits into a pigeon hole.

@HaudYerWheeshtYaWeeBellend - yes, you are right, I am sorry.
Very glad your DS is ok now.

Why do I get reminders to make an appointment for a (non urgent) review .... yet If I am lucky enough to get through on the telephone I am told there are no appointments available? . I just ignore such messages now .... although I was a bit miffed after not having seen a doctor or nurse p for approx 5 years I got a text out of the blue saying I had been selected for a weight management course !

@jacks11
I've no doubt that's the bottom end of the issue, not enough GPs.
Not enough appointments.
Reception staff trying to be the gate keeper of those appointments.

Stupid rules like phone one the day for appointments, don't respect patients have demands on their time too.

I might actually change practice as the phone on the day really does my head in you know by 8.15 all appointments are gone. So sod you if you've been trying to get through.

I am lucky and have decent receptionists at our surgery. One in particular is so lovely and I’m always pleased to get her on the phone. It makes so much difference, so thanks for being a great receptionist!
My question is are you seeing patients face to face more now? Since covid I think I’ve taken DS in twice. I personally haven’t seen a GP f2f. Dh recently had an issue where he waited 2 weeks for a phone appt then they asked him to come in as had to be examined. All seems v convoluted so he effectively had two appointments when one could’ve done.

After a receptionist helpfully informed me that she felt my asthma was "psychological rather than medical" I avoid at all costs.

Severe asthma, diagnosed age 5. But she decided it was all in my head after a 5 minute phone call.

I have always treated GPs receptionists as I would like to be treated. I respect their job can be nightmarish at times and speak to them with clarity and try to keep my requests as short as possible. I did have one some years ago, who could be a little difficult so when visiting the surgery I made an effort to ask how she was etc. After that she was totally different when I called in. Always ask their name and remember they are the gatekeeper to the doctor, so behave accordingly.

@HaudYerWheeshtYaWeeBellend

*After reading all the irate, insulting, rude and misinformed threads on here I have made this account!*

And you know all the posts about GP receptions are wrong simply because your a GP receptionist and patient experiences are all wrong or they are simply misinformed

My old surgery receptionist was wonderful however they closed and we were all transferred to another surgery the receptionists can only be described as every!!!

Me - I need a repeat of my ds Epi pens

R -I can only prescribe you one Epi pen

Me - no I need 2 as per his consultant letter, we know there is a shortage however ds needs 2 due to the severity of his allergens if you read his notes you will find the consultant letter

R- You can have one or none

Me - il call ds secretary and can you speak to her as ds does need 2

R - No, they will need to send a letter

Me - they’ve already send his letter if you can access his notes.

R - we need a new letter

Then the catalyst , I’m in tears writing this.

Ds 12 a few months ago mid asthma attack ambulance unable to attend, nearest medical assistance was our GP surgery , dh carrying our 12 year old, 11 stone and 6ft son who was now gasping to breath!!!

The bitch asked dh to sit down in the receptionist area and they would call an ambulance and for dh to stop shouting that our son needs a doctor now, by this time ds is now in and out of consciousness, she told dh she’s doesn’t have to deal with this and closed the window and shouting she would phone the police due to his aggressive and intimidating behaviour

Dh was on the floor with ds on his knees begging for help as our son was dying in front of us.

I then started screaming as I believed ds was going to die, a nurse heard the commotion and raised the alarm and ds was instantly surrounded by wonderful nurses and doctors / given a nebuliser and eventually oral steroids, the ambulance finally turned up 90 mins later, if we listened to the receptionist our ds would be dead!

I was absolutely beside myself and the other patients in the reception all gave witness statements.

He was in hospital for 9 days due to infections on both lungs.

The receptionists has now been sacked and the surgery been placed in special measures.

So please don’t patronise those of us who have received abysmal care due to inadequate GP receptionists.

That is terrible but sadly doesn't surprise me. My neighbour was on the way home from hospital after surgery and began having very scary symptoms. Her husband pulled in to our surgery, just round the corner. Got wife in explained and reception said he needed to go back to the hospital, not even in our town. He was frantic and phoned the hospital, got put through to the ward and the sister told him to put her on to receptionist. Receptionist still refused, the sister got the surgeon who explained how serious it was and that the receptionist must get a doctor. She refused. Surgeon got an ambulance there in double quick time. I don't know what happened, I know there was an official complaint and investigation but I don't know what happened to the receptionist.

Our old GP Surgery was very good. They answered the phones and you could get an appointment or a telephone consultation within a few hours. Small village life. My only complaint, ever, was that the receptionist once lost a test that was ordered by my GP. Think it was not sent off, and kept fobbing me off when I rang for the result.

Now we live in a bigger town, and I'm experiencing lack of appointments, even for scheduled ones they need to do for annual medicine review. And I nearly ran out of my repeat prescription because they didn't issue it, despite allowing them extra time.

@jacks11 - the thing is most professionals work 12-13 hour days if can cut the mustard. Lawyers do, accountants do, bankers do; farmers certainly do. Regrettably their work can dry up and they are redundant. Even academics do and the way HE funding is presently going some of them will be redundant soon too I imagine.

Just going back to titles, as a child I was expected to call my grandparents' staff and their spouses Mr and Mrs: farm labourers, grooms, etc., as was my mother. My children were expected to call the local shopkeeper Mr x, the lady in the park cafe Mrs y, my cleaner Mrs z. It is very sad that individuals who are so well educated have such poor manners.

My late Father had Alzheimer's, one day Mum and I came back from a brief trip out to be told the GP had phoned, obviously Dad couldn't remember what it was about. Mum phoned the surgery to be told by the receptionist that the appointment for my Dad to see GP about his Alzheimer's check up couldn't be discussed with anyone but Dad....who couldn't remember. I am sorry, but if people are so ill informed and bloody stupid that they have no knowledge of something as common as AD then they shouldn't be working for a GP surgery. Oh, and same practice, some years later, with Mum who needed to make follow up appointment; she would have to call at 8am, this wouldn't work as Mum by then had AD and wouldn't remember to call. Could I do it? No, patient confidentiality. Sorry, OP, you may be marvellous, but the receptionists at my late parents surgery were ill informed, badly trained and unsympathetic. Late middle aged ladies who had taken on a nice little part time job, who were IT illiterate and completely fucking incompetent.

I have 2 issues with gp surgeries one is when gp receptionists triage patients, I have a rare condition so If I call for something that doesn't seem that urgent to an average person with my condition it can be quite significant the 2nd is I work a full time job where I can't have my phone on me so being told the dr will call me at some point between 9 and 6 doesn't help. Face to face you got an appointment time so why can't this be done with telephone appointments

I just wanted to say I'm in the US where things aren't quite as stretched as in the UK, but I hugely respect how difficult your job can be. I've never come across a GP receptionist who wasn't willing to help me with my needs. Thank you GP receptionists!

My GP receptionists are fab!

Extremely professional and hardworking.

I have really only experienced fantastic GP receptionists - the one, who when I took my son in, thinking he just had a cold that wasn't shifting, but ended up being blue-lit to hospital, took my car keys, and assured me he'd get it all sorted (and did, was waiting for my FIL to come in, nabbed him and gave him the keys, updated him with what he could and asked to be updated in return), was everything I needed - knew his job, and was able to be flexible in an emergency

In fact, all the receptionists there were great, whether for pregnancy visits, vaccinations, earaches, or that time we had a newborn, and a toddler with suspected chickenpox, and we had to figure out what the risks were and what to do next whilst also not infecting a reception full of elderly.

Trouble isn't the vast majority of fantastic receptionists, it's that 1 in 100 who's not right for the job..

I've only once had an issue, when I was being investigated/diagnosed with ovarian cancer, my GP (who is amazing) was calling to check in with me regularly, not as an appointment slot just when she had a spare 10 mins so I didn't always expect her call. At one point when I was awaiting a set of results, she said to call reception and leave a message for her when I'd received them and she'd make time to call me in the next few days after. So I did exactly that but the sentence "Can I please leave a message for Dr T" seemed to absolutely baffle reception. No, I don't want to make an appointment with her, just leave a message. Yes, I understand she has no free appointments for weeks, I just want to leave a message. No, I don't want to see someone else, I just want to leave a message for Dr T, literally just my name and that my results are back. Eventually they absolutely refused to take a message on the grounds Dr T wasn't in that day, apparently it was physically impossible for the message to be left for her to pick up tomorrow. I understand this is maybe non-standard for the receptionist but for the Dr to tell me to leave her a message and the receptionist to refuse to take it felt very strange indeed.

@Laniania

I'm 31. If someone has my name in front of them, I prefer that they use my name. I don't care about titles and would prefer never to need to use on- they just seem needlessly formal and kind of archaic in this day and age. Particularly for women, I feel that honorifics are just a tool for needless judgment about marital status.