GP receptionist - report or let it go?

[6079SmithW]

I’ve just come off the phone with the GP surgery.
I had an appointment today which due escalating problems at work I needed to move to next week. It’s for a timed (28 days) injection so it’s really not convenient to move it as I will be outside of treatment for a week, but I didn’t feel I had any choice.
(Full disclosure - I also had to ring them yesterday because I had written the appointment down on different days in two different diaries).
After changing the appointment, and presumably after she thought the call was disconnected, the receptionist said (to person unknown) “She’s a right bloody nuisance ‘6079SmithW’ with her bloody injection”, then realised and hung up.
I rang the surgery back and told her that I had her comment and she apologised. I explained that I would love to be able to drop everything and just attend but that as I work full time, I have to balance priorities. She said “Well we struggle for appointments so it’s just a good job we could for you in”. I felt that the apology wasn’t genuine and she was just trying to justify herself.
I appreciate that we’re all busy and we all have work stress etc. but AIBU to think that a GP receptionist shouldn’t be slagging off patients (within earshot of god knows who)? Furthermore would you report her or just let it go? My inclination is to leave it there, but I feel like she hasn’t taken the incident seriously and probably just slagged me off a bit more once she got off the second call !

YANBU, and I hope that you hearing her and phoning back to tell her will have given her a proper jolt and will make her ensure the call is over next time she slags someone off.

Of course she shouldn’t be slagging anyone off, especially if reception is in a public area and patients could overhear her. If that’s the case then a letter to the practice manager would be in order, you don’t even have to name names, she’ll know it’s about her.

However, YABU if you think staff never bitch about patients.

Going against the grain but I would complain. I work in healthcare and it absolutely isn’t ok.

She didn’t mean for you to hear and she obviously thought that she had hung up but she shouldn’t have said it anyway! You cancelling isn’t putting her out.

We all have rubbish days, we have days where people rub us up the wrong way but unless you report it this will potentially happen again to someone else.

I think you should complain, argue a concern about confidentiality not being maintained.

Leave it, you called her back and she had to apologise but formal complaints aren't worth your energy or precious time.

You cancelled an appointment today that was supposed to be today. I'm not surprised the receptionist was miffed. Surely if you know you had work you should have given them at least a days notice. That appointment will probably be wasted now.

How was confidentiality breached?

It wasn’t.

Let it go. Most people bitch about people who have been a bit tricky or annoying. She didnt mean to say it in your hearing so what's the point? She apologised. End of.

If she had apologised and not followed it up with her next sarky comment about appointments I would let it go but I think the fact that she made the follow up comment just really shows she wasn't bothered at all that you heard. For that alone I would complain.

Yes that's very unprofessional.

I'm a nurse I'd drop it.
However, it's a timed injection and you knew it was booked. If you dropped dead tomorrow your work would carry on without you, no matter how much work escalates you have to prioritise your health.

Let it go. Don’t be that person.

I'd definitely leave it. For all the reasons mentioned.

I assume your injections are important and should really be administered as prescribed? In which case I'd focus my ire on my employers and make sure that they don't prevent you from attending vital medical appointments in future.

She’s a Dr’s receptionist. It’s her actual job to deal professionally with members of the public, not slag them off in the workplace, whether or not they hear it! It has absolutely zero impact on the receptionist if the op needs to ring several times to check or cancel her appointment. As I said - that’s her job! Obviously last minute isn’t ideal, but we all have times when there is so much going on that something’s got to give, and in this case it was the op’s appt., which she would have liked to attend. At least she did cancel.

Deffo tell the practice manager. People who aren't professional need to be called out, otherwise they won't stop

Put it in your phone calendar from now on

I would report it, I get extremely anxious about booking appointments and hate being a nuisance, if I heard this about myself it might push me not to call again.

She should know better, so unprofessional.

Report it definitely. It’s her job to take phone calls and manage appointments.

😂😂😂

It’s true what they say, you never overhear anything good about yourself!

I’d leave it. She will be more careful in future, but your work issue caused to you to cancel, meaning that appointment might be wasted. She was venting her frustration to a colleague, or maybe you are a nuisance sometimes, many patients can be. She was likely answering phones in the office with other staff and not sat on the main desk. Surgery staff absolutely do talk about people, whether that be saying they are lovely, demanding or a PITA. It’s human nature.

I think her comment was fair enough, you rang on the day to move your appointment. She probably spends all day explaining to people that she’s got no appointments available and here you are wasting your slot.

bet you wouldn’t have done that if you’d had to pay for the appointment

Not quite the same, but one of our GP receptionists was very unprofessional during a phone call a few years ago - being obstructive, unhelpful and along with snarky comments. I didn't make a "formal" complaint, but I did speak to the practice manager by phone to tell her what had happened and what the receptionist had done/said. She agreed it was unprofessional and said she'd "have a word". Ever since, that particular receptionist has been a lot more helpful and less obstructive when I've had dealings with her, so it has worked and was well worth taking it further.

GP receptionists are always bitches. It is required trait for the role.

while it must not have been nice to hear, you’ve made your point now. I’d be very surprised if she does it again, what would be the point in complaining?

Don't be ridiculous.