To report this receptionist?

[Ezlo]

Today I had to call in at my surgery to get blood bags.

I had to queue for a while to get seen to and when I did, the receptionist didn't smile, she didn't apologise for the long wait and then couldn't find on the system why I needed the blood to be taken. Her colleague eventually helped and after more faffing, I got my blood bag. She had a sour face throughout.

There were two other staff members Sat who were only taking prescription requests or arriving people in for their appointments but were mostly sat without any patients.

By that point I had just missed the hourly bus to where the bloods where being taken and had to walk about a mile all up hill whilst severly anaemic.

This is the same clinic where you can only book an appointment by going in to surgery at 8am each weekday or by using the online triage which is accessible from 8am to around 9.15am each weekday. If you work those times then you don't get an appointment. They refuse to give appointments by phone.

😂😂😂😂😂

I find it's much better if you say "smile, it might never happen". Sometimes followed up with "luv". An alternative is "you'd look so much prettier if you smiled". Both work better if you are a man mind.

I wouldn't complain about the receptionist but I would about the ridiculous system.

Our GP receptionists are lovely and really helpful.

You give me hope I will meet one someday.

I got the impression it was pretty urgent if the OP has to have bags for blood, so obviously it's important she goes ahead of people who don't have to get something fast. That's just common sense. And yes, if there's an urgent need and the people whose job it is aren't listening you do have to speak louder.

The OP just watched lots of people who didn't have to get somewhere fast for a medical need get served, rather than speak out and explain how important it was that she get the bus for the clinic appointment.

And yes, I would always offer my place in the queue to someone who needed it more. That's just very basic decency, surely? My point is that the OP needs to explain her need at the time, rather than blame the receptionist once it's too late.

I'm my last job our birth/marriage/death Senior Registrar with at least 25 years experience quit her job as someone complained she 'looked miserable' when registering their family members death. Poor lady was the most professional and empathetic Registrar we had but that one nasty customer upset her so much that was her off and away, she now works as the admin person in her brothers business.

Be careful about complaining unnecessarily about the front line workers or one day, we won't have them. The GP receptionists will be replaced by 16 year old school leavers and your medical records will be all over Tiktok.

I changed doctors a while ago and when I rang up to register, the reception were lovely and helpful

Can get an appointment any day, or ring at 6pm for an evening one or a weekend morning

It's like night and day from my old doctors

If staff someplace are being snippy I ask them if they're having a bad day. It flusters them every time 😈😂

It's winter and probably absolutely chocker at the minute. I've had some horrendous experiences with my surgery, but on the flip side I used to work as a pharmacy dispenser and liaise with reception staff hourly - it's a tough job. It sounds like she wasn't very chirpy but I wouldn't say she was rude, either.

That’s actually a useful one. Makes you sound like you’re being empathic and kind, and draws attention to any rude behaviour! And maybe they are just actually having an awful day, and gives you both a chance to reframe the interaction into a pleasant one.

Why did OP leave it until the last minute to get these blood bags (weird system by the way ). If I had to get something like that and then catch a bus I would have got the bags in plenty of time. She has to take some responsibility for this.

Your problem isn’t the receptionist. She was helping you. It’s not her problem it took a while to sort. You should have gone sooner if you needed to catch a bus. Your problem is your surgery. To outsource bloods is ridiculous. A simple 5 min task. And not to have an effective system for getting emergency appointments without attending in person. A nonsense.
change GP’s.

Grow up OP

At our last surgery they could only be collected on the day of the blood test, all blood tests were 9:30-11:00am at another surgery, reception at our surgery opened at 08:45, sadly after getting to the front of the queue there wasn’t the option to magic up a bus, flying carpet or teleport to the surgery four miles away.

'were only taking prescription requests'

Why are your blood bags more important than other people's drugs. With commercial pharmacies closing every month, most GP pharmacies are swamped and struggling to keep up.

Next time, you could ask for more blood bags while at the clinic, or you could have collected them from the GP in advance.

Sorry you missed your bus and had to walk but that's not their fault.

Id make a suggestion to them. Rather than spending time printing off, filing and then having to find blood forms when the patient comes to collect, the surgery I use now just prints then out there and then. Much more efficient.

It's a weird system all around. I don't live in the UK, blood tests here have always been done in laboratories. You turn up, at any time, and they take your blood - nothing is required on our part (other than the forms from the GP).

Surely there must be a simpler way - why is anything connected with health so difficult there?

Yes, please complain. If she is sour faced and unable to meet demand because she is overworked and unsupported you might be doing her a favour.

I've started to make formal complaints recently. Responses have been pretty quick and got problems sorted that have been languishing for months.

I would probably complain about the whole thing, especially the appointment system. Or move to a different surgery if you can.

I agree with @TroysMammy and others

And I would have told you "excuse me, I'm dealing with this patient first". How rude are you?

Why doesnt the place that takes the blood have blood bags? Very complicated.

Report for what? Not having a manic grin on her face?

Can you imagine being told by your boss that you’ve been the subject of a complaint because you didn’t smile. You didn’t smile in what was obviously a busy, stressful morning where you’re simply trying to undertake the woefully inadequate practices put in place that make both your life and the service users life unnecessarily difficult. And you have to repeat this nonsense over and over again all day every day, because the entire system is flawed.
But rather than someone complaining that the process of giving blood needs review, they simply want to complain that you, a woman, dare not be cheery and bright at all times.
And your colleagues, who appeared to be not up (we don’t actually know what they were doing) to much didn’t offer to help but no such complaint made about their lack of efficiency.

It wasn’t her fault you were late. It was yours.

I'm presuming these 'blood bags' aren't actually for storing blood? They're the prelabelled bags that the ampules go into once blood is drawn by phlebotomist?