sick ad tired of entitled people

[wasieverreallyhere]

I am a healthcare professional working for the NHS not nurse or doctor why do people think they can e abusive to us for things out of our control its like people think we enjoy not being able to give what you need. Im not doctors receptionist

Sorry to hear you r feeling that way OP. Can u give us a little more context?

So a doctor's receptionist should be ok with abuse?

I agree. I worked as a carer, and people just thought they could be rude (family’s of relatives). I really don’t mind people being upset, we all get stressed at times, but why not learn to handle your emotions and stop throwing your toys out of the pram, like the rest of us. Maybe it’s down to all this crap tv that people watch, where it’s all about staged arguments. We have lost something in society, but we can put it back by just doing simple things like not blaming others all the time.

😂 I was thinking this

Totally get you OP, I’ve been working with nurses/doctors and quite honestly some of the behaviour I’ve witnessed is appalling. Most NHS staff know it’s shit, most are fed up with being expected to work with reduced breaks and more patients than they know what to do with. We refer to emergency clinics, the patients must be seen, but we are overbooking on already full clinics so we tell them they will be in for a long wait. There’s no one else to see them and the clinic size has doubled. More and more people are abusive and usually start filming just as staff have had enough of being sworn at and threatened and then tell half a story with them being escorted out by security. They never show the threats nor how long staff have been dealing with patiently before finally saying no. I’ve been threatened by patients who tell you how nasty staff were only to find out that they became abusive and the nurse was frightened of going into the cubicle alone. I’ve heard countless patients tell staff they can do what they like include assaulting staff because they have MH issues. I know there are bad staff out there. I know that waiting times are shit and it’s not acceptable but the people on the front line are literally left to deal with it. The government promise all these lovely things but never say where they are getting staff from to actually make improvements. Everyone is caught between a rock and a hard place. Patients are suffering but there are a fair number who want immediate solutions to things and try nothing at home. Meanwhile the good staff are the ones left to bear the brunt of the frustrations felt which are being used as an excuse to get away with some of the behaviours I’ve seen.

I'm a go receptionist, can't wait to leave awful

It's the same all over. I am a benefits advisor and this week had a client shreiking at me because she didn't get awarded her benefit, as if it was my fault and made the decisions myself !

Well keep in mind you are dealing with sick distressed people who are largely not getting the care or support they need. I generally keep my cool in the first few interactions, but at some point after multiple delays, reschedules, endless ringing without response, inability to schedule at all, conflicting guidance, downplaying of symptoms, etc. I become less polite. It isn’t about you. The people you are interacting with are in difficult situations and the system is absolutely broken.

I think we have all been on jobs where we take a lot of shit. I was a Receptionist then Manager (aka ‘Complaints box’) in a 7 Star health and fitness venue for 9 years whilst at uni.
I think the key is to remember, every single time, that it is a ‘them’ problem and not a ‘you’ problem.

Also I learned that a lot of people just want to be listened to, and then they’re fine, but if you’re going to listen there are clear boundaries about language, tone and raising voices. You have the power to terminate the call/ conversation if you are abused because that’s where the boundary lies.

I mentioned doctors
Receptionist as we already know they get abuse

I've had more to do with the NHS than I'd prefer and have been very, very grateful for all the care I've had.

There are a couple of clinic admins who need a refresher of customer care, abrasive and downright lacking in soft skills however. And that's before I've opened my mouth. If I behaved like that at work I'd be shown the door.

I agree, having also had way more use of the NHS then I would ever want!

Having said that I’ve also dealt with rude shop assistants, rude colleagues, other rude volunteers where I volunteer…..there’s people in every job sector that are poor at handling people, whether that be because they’re having a bad day, have just dealt with someone rude themselves or are just one of those people who have no people skills or general nice customer service skills to their name.

Ive been frustrated at systems before but people need to learn to handle it correctly and not shoot the messenger. At my last hospital appointment, there was a written notice up in the waiting room stating that it would likely be a 3 hour wait, no joke. I was seen about 4 hours after my appointment time.
Thing is, a year ago I was sent to that department as an emergency appointment and was seen by consultants non stop for 3 hours who I was told were being pulled from the general appointments (as usual) so in that case I was the cause of the severe delay for god knows how many people.

Some people sadly, think the world revolves around them. Everyone has a right to be angry and everyone can be justified in that, but get the right person (or people) responsible and have some decent conduct.