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'm 70 years old. Let's hope I never become elderly, ay?

The problem was with the GP receptionists wasn't it not the woman?

You have no idea what changes had happened to this womans medication, it could be a complete fuck up. She could be on important meds where the brand/dose does matter (parkinsons/epilepsy) or is at least stressful if it changes. They could have deprescribed important meds. A medication change can be quite anxiety inducing and it's fair enough for a patient to be informed by a Dr or reassured by a clinician.

You assume she's being stupid, but also describe as her as bright as a button

You chose to call out the woman for wasting your time when really it was the receptionist who turns out was just hiding in their booth the whole time?! Why couldn't they have just opened their shutters if the queue wasn't moving for 25 mins?! This is just poor management from the reception team, and you didn't want to call them out because you were worried they would "turn on you".

It was 10 minutes.

But Brefugee is right: you still chose to pick on the person in the weaker position.

Usually people who mention someone is "elderly" don't consider themselves to be old, so it's not unreasonable for Brefugee to tthink you have a few years before you consider yourself elderly.

Ageism is rife - maybe the people who tutted at you were thinking "Grumpy, interfering old bat".

Then you should know better.

I mean it's literally impossible to know how long it actually was as OP doesn't seem to know, and may have only been a minute or two but its still not OPs job to criticise the woman, and the receptions job to manage any growing queue

Absolutely! I was only pointing out that the OP has now said it was 10 minutes, not 25.

This happened to me before when I was a full (and anyone behind me in the queue would have been) 35 minutes late, because a series of people (yes they happened to be non self aware older people but anyone can be) who ignored the ginormous queue behind them and kept asking lots and lots of unrelated questions. Receptionist didn't say a word, and to be honest was probably passing the time. Not just with older people but people more generally who are highly self unaware need a nudge. There are a LOT of these people nowadays, standing in the middle of the aisle unawares in a shop or not moving aside in any given scenario.

Trying to sort out a possible med mistake isn't chatting.

I have an elderly relative with dementia. Before she had to go into a home they tried her on a med which made her issues worse (she was running down a main road shouting that her husband had risen from the dead.). Her med was changed but several months later a doctor made a mistake and prescribed the original med. I phoned the surgery to be told it was Friday afternoon (strangely I did know that) and was told nothing could be done till Monday. I was 200 miles away and caring for my disabled husband and told the receptionist if anything happened I was going to the papers.

I got a bit of a snotty call back to say the senior GP was going to call on her on his way home. He phoned me, apologised and said he was sorting out some of the correct med and would stay with her till her carer arrived and got her to bed.

Yes I was a nuisance about a change of med and make no apology.

When you, too, are elderly, you may find that navigating life becomes overwhelming and, at times, terrifying. Technology in the NHS has made things incredibly difficult for many elderly people. I am glad the receptionist, and the rest of the queue, was kind to her and I hope you face that kindness when you’re elderly and finding life overwhelming

I'm 71 & know fine well that things can change very rapidly. You should remember that.

Quite!

Blame ai - I have been made to cry twice this week when my conversations have gone on past and in excess of 20 minutes.

my own gp surgery refuse to switch on e-consult, making working people still get on the phones for 8am )who has time anymore for this!?)

I work in a call centre for local authority and have in a past life briefly experienced what it is like to be a receptionist in a gp surgery, sadly, neither are good.

But a receptionist can't sort out a med mistake! A clinician can, and preferably the prescribing clinician. A receptionist isn't even allowed to tell you to go home and take two aspirin! Repeating "But no one told me the medicine was being changed", was, as I said, getting all of us nowhere. The booking screen was down, and a queue was building up. One problem was that only one reception window was open (out of three) and when ta second one opened up to deal with the queue there were 3 other staff in reception doing other stuff.

Receptionist aren't medically trained nor are they prescription trained if you have a prescription enquiry speak to dispensary
The Receptionists need more people like you to speak up when they can't, the amount of abuse a Receptionist receives is unbelievable they do not ask you about symptoms to be nosey nor do they actually care what's wrong with you literally just doing their job

I'm sorry and emphasize with your frustration. Our surgeries are gradually changing to end the 8am lottery and have a team of various clinicians that triage over the phone any time of the day. They are a sort of 'outreach team' and have even restarted home doctor visits. I do realize we are very lucky and privileged where I live.

When @CurlewKate asked
Any other little details you misremembered? (when it turned out that maybe it was 10 minutes not 25) you were quite sarky and said:
I wasn't really at the surgery, I was at home watching TV. And 10 minutes is less than 15 minutes. And I didn't have anything else to do that day. That enough?

Now it turns out that:

One problem was that only one reception window was open (out of three) and when ta second one opened up to deal with the queue there were 3 other staff in reception doing other stuff.

Was that another little detail you misremembered?

Sorry - meant to say this was @TheQuirkyMaker

If anything similar happens at our GP someone else from the office comes out and deals with the long winded problem

I don't understand the point you are making.

The point is that you had less of a problem than you originally claimed - there's a big difference between 25 and 10 minutes - and more options than you initially implied. In a place with three receptionists where all you needed to do was check in, all you needed to do was ask to check in.

Your opinion of the conversation you overheard is simply irrelevant. It wasn't your business. You were unnecessarily rude. It's not the end of the world, but since you've posted to ask about it, I would say you could certainly have made better choices.

You’re not being unreasonable but I’m surprised your surgery doesn’t have a tablet to check in on. I’ve not been for a while and probably only for smears and but I’m pretty sure since DD1 was small (so 15 years ish) they had 2 tablets to check in on. So you can completely avoid the receptionist queue. If they don’t have them, then you need to suggest it along with a complaint about not being able to check in for your appointment.

Really?

Okay...
You replied to @CurlewKate , when she said:
25 minutes. If, as you say, it’s true.
with
To be fair, maybe it was 10 mins total. Maybe less.
CurlewKate asked you, given you thought it was perhaps 10 minutes not 25 minutes, if there were Any other little details you misremembered?

You replied sarcastically I wasn't really at the surgery, I was at home watching TV. And 10 minutes is less than 15 minutes. And I didn't have anything else to do that day. That enough?

But it turns out that there was another detail you misremembered:
One problem was that only one reception window was open (out of three) and when ta second one opened up to deal with the queue there were 3 other staff in reception doing other stuff.

So you misremembered that you waited 10 minutes rather than 25 and you misremembered that there were 3 receptionists doing "other stuff".

Do you know, I wouldn't want to be waiting behind you while you gave your various impressions of what happened and then couldn't understand a perfectly obvious point someone was making.

'Do you know, I wouldn't want to be waiting behind you while you gave your various impressions of what happened and then couldn't understand a perfectly obvious point someone was making.'
Oh I see, you have comprehension problems. Maybe you were the lady holding us all up while you repeated a statement to someone who repeatedly told you she couldn't deal with it, hoping you could browbeat them into submission. I hope you live alone.

I hope you live alone.

What a horrible thing to say.

Explain that, please.
It makes no sense whatsoever.