I upset a lady at GP surgery today

[TheQuirkyMaker]

A queue of five people in front at surgery. Waiting room pretty full. Only one receptionist available. An elderly lady at the front was telling the receptionist that she had just picked up meds at the chemist, and they had been changed from her regular ones to different ones. There was back and forth discussion, and every few minutes the lady would say, "but nobody told me they would be changed". I asked the lady in front of me how long this had been going on and she said "about 10 minutes". After a full further 15 minutes I said "Look, this is getting us no where, none of us will get to see a doctor if we can't sign in". I got a bit of condemnation along the lines of "she was entitled to her time", but I said, "this is reception, not a consultation. Just repeating that she wasn't told her medication would be changed is getting us no where. This could go on forever".
People got a bit sniffy with me, and I got a few stares, but I was right, wasn't I?
I get we should be tolerant of older people, but there has to be a bit of give and take.

I hear you OP.
My MIL is exactly the same. We all make allowances because she has Alzheimers but in all honesty she has been a difficult old coot her entire life.

Before the Alzheimers she was rude and demanding. She would swear blind she hadn’t been told things that I personally had heard her being told. The truth was if she didn’t like it, she just refused to listen. Then it was the other persons fault it was “wrong”. It most certainly hasn’t got better with age.

It’s not always cognitive decline sometimes people are just bloody difficult.

If she’s been like that all her life, why are you calling her a “difficult old coot”?

Oh please.

Because it sounds much nicer than she’s always been a bitch, hag, witch, cunt etc etc. She was a difficult old coot at 40, 50, 60, 70 & 80

She has made points about me putting on weight, turned her nose up and refused to eat meals I’ve cooked because she didn’t “care for” the cut of meat I’d provided, she makes digs at my SIL, she is rude to waitresses in restaurants etc. It’s not just me she is rude and entitled.

I’ve put up with it and took it for my husbands benefit- he doesn’t get off lightly either as she is equally snotty with him when she isn’t getting her own way. We tolerate her together- we go home, laugh it off and vow we will never do this to our kids.

Now do tell me who shit in your road today as I don’t think difficult old coot is that much of an insult?

Thanks @MissyMooPoo2
I think CurlewKate is either my MIL or the woman from the surgery 😂

I quite agree.

I had a similar elderly lady jump the queue for the gp receptionist 'because she just had something quick'. Her husband was standing awkwardly and saying 'sorry' to the rest of the queue..

Good on you

To be honest I don’t think anyone handled it great here. It’s totally valid to query why your medicine has been changed and it’s logical to query it at collection as opposed to later on. The staff should have either asked her to step aside as she checked others or sought backup to deal with the queue. In my GP practice the receptionist would have asked the GP to call her later and discuss directly or booked her a GP appointment instead of trying to discuss it at the desk when she isn’t a clinician.

Referring to an older person as “bright as a button” is so patronising. You’re not talking about a 2 year old.

Very obvious that so many people don't understand how bloody hard it is being a medical receptionist. I did it for 3 years and it was one of the worst jobs I've ever had. So many people are rude and vile (rarely the really ill ones). You get paid a pittance for people to shout and swear at you because the NHS is fucked and they can't get an appointment. That was my experience anyway.

Bitch, hag or witch is fine, isn’t ageist and will prevent people cutting her patronising slack. Why do you want to be nice?

Bitch, hag or witch is fine, isn’t ageist

Not ageist but definitely misogynistic

Some medications can't be changed, even from brand to generic, and you can't miss a dose. You're really screwed when this happens, irrespective of age, and kind of have to fight your corner. Just accepting it, isn't an option. It might be annoying for other patients, but if you're the patient in question and this happens then you're really stuck.

True. The chemist is a tad further away than my GP's surgery. I was there for another reason, too. But good idea.

Completely concur with you yes
I used to presume it was just our surgery receptionists whom were stroppy - Because they had a really bad reputation for being curt, rude & hostile - But it seems it's much more widespread than this, the more I mature💚

So - no one was answering her questions & you didn't give a shit. This will be you one day.

No, you weren't being unreasonable. It sounds like a ridiculous situation with nobody able to get to their actual appointment for 25 minutes because of this one lady. In fact, you were speaking on everyone's behalf, not just your own. The receptionist should have either requested help from a colleague or at least asked the lady to stand aside for a few minutes while you all got signed in. What happened in the end?

Shortages made worse by France being such an arse about Brexit, mostly, and the Northern Ireland protocol probably. If you look at how the EU is in sway to gender woo you would not regret leaving the self-absorbed not terribly successful bloc.

Totally agree. It can be really hard and this thread has surprised me as it seems like that's not realised. It's honestly not being difficult for the sake of it. Not having essential medication - or being given medication which has been prescribed in a hospital and then dispensed wrongly by a GP or chemist is really stressful. And while some are good, some are really not. You can't just sit back or walk away when you're managing certain conditions. You're pretty much constantly advocating for yourself, and others might that's seen as difficult, but actually it's necessary survival.

Agree it should have been handled better by receptionist. They should have called for back up and put a note on the system for the GP to check and phone back or another member of staff could callback and explain.
We now have the generic names of the medication my DP’s take. Because it often looks different. So if they are slightly confused we visit and do a check. I normally write on box what the medication is for.

I can only fight one battle on this thread. I’m sinking without trace anyway!

Torn on this. Usual routes for sorting this kind of thing out are all online now. Older people often digitally excluded and, historically, would've been able to sort issues out by going in and speaking to someone.

The receptionist should have asked her to take a seat while she checked all of you in, but it wasn't the old lady's fault. She might have been confused by the change and needed to discuss it with someone.

Do you not have one of those electronic check in screens? I thought everywhere had them now. Saves queuing in reception which always takes bloody ages here.

There should be more than one person on reception. And the receptionist should have told the. tablet woman to wait for a few minutes while patients were checked in.

You obviously have a digitally advanced surgery - nothing like it in my borough