Rude gps

[mumma224]

Why are gp receptionists so rude? And why do we just act like that’s standard? Every time I’ve called up recently I’ve been met with some condescending women acting as if me calling up is inconvenient for her. I don’t want to hear nothing about how awful they get treated because to be honest, I don’t feel like being so polite after I am instantly met with rudeness from them. It’s at the point where I get stressed whenever I need to call up.
I get the job is stressful yes but retail workers, others in customer facing jobs, we don’t get to treat customers like crap just because we can’t emotionally handle the job and everything that comes with it.

I am just really glad that the vigorous gate keeping didn't exist when I was very suicidal because I think if I had had to justify my need for an appointment to a receptionist that day I am not sure I would be here now. I only felt able to open up once I was face to face with a GP not least because my abusive (now ex);husband was in the background when I made the call asking for an appointment

I actually do understand and I am polite when I am engaging with receptionists that they may just be following a script they have been told to use but that doesn't mean we shouldn't have a conversation about appropriate levels of gatekeeping and requests for information.

Some issues are very intimate or embarrassing or difficult to talk about and patients may not want to go into that in detail with someone who is not medically trained. And then there are the issues like I mentioned up the thread where a patient is actually very knowledgeable about their condition and/ or has a rare condition and they know full well what they need and the receptionist is unlikely to have any understanding of the issue

On each occasion when I have been quite assertive in order to ensure I or my child get in front of a GP that day but GP has been very clear that I have done the right thing

I left one practice because of the receptionist. Patients were routinely ignored as the queue grew longer and longer. She’d be sat there in the window staring at her computer screen and just blank you as it got closer and closer to your appointment time and there was no machine to check in. If you said ‘excuse me’ she’d say ‘I’m busy’. One time she was behind the desk discussing loudly what she wanted to put on their new shelves with another receptionist as if that took priority over patients and after being ignored for over five minutes with a queue forming behind me I leaned forward and said ‘excuse me’ once again and she said ‘I’m busy, you’ll have to wait’. After that she purposely blanked me every single time I went in and made me wait longer and longer as punishment for daring to ask her to serve people and I just walked out three times after being blatantly ignored by her and eventually thought why the fuck am I putting up with this crap from her so I joined another practice and made a formal complaint about her. People she was on first name terms with were always seen immediately but if she didn’t like you, you were made to wait while she pretended she was doing something on her computer. One time an old lady who was incontinent was in the waiting room and after she went into consultation this receptionist came out holding her nose and spraying air freshener everywhere in a really exaggerated fashion then rolled her eyes as she walked off. Proper piece of work she was. I hope she smells pissy one day too and other people follow her around spraying air freshener everywhere.

This is not my experience at all!
I'm 58 and have moved around a number of surgeries, there have been a few not so great over the years but generally helpful.
The staff at my current GP are brilliant, and have gone out of their way to help, I have a son with additional needs and they are so accommodating.

I get that but I also know that some people are simply against telling anything on principle that they are not "medically trained". Receptionist rarely need to know detailed explanation of your enquiry but giving them basic information like "I need a skin lesion checked out" or "I've had a persistent cough for two months" shouldn't be a big deal. After all, they need to make a decision on how urgently you need to see a GP or whether you will need to see another professional at the practice. Yes, they are not medically trained but they ARE trained to make triaging decisions like that.

I got told by a GP receptionist when I rang to use lemsips and cough medicine for a chesty cough, despite throwing up for 4 days. Was told by her “nasty viruses are everywhere”. Ended up hospitalised with bilateral pneumonia after another day of lemsips!

She was really rude. Other ones have been ok, I guess it depends who they are as a person

How do you know what medical training they have had? And triaging doesn’t need medical training just common sense!

Then how else do they prioritise patients ? Just give everyone with the sniffles an appointment meaning there are none left for people with say, infections or a concerning lump ?

They may not be medically trained but they do have a procedure to follow.

You always get posts on these threads saying 'why do they triage you', and it is always answered multiple times.

They just want to know if you are seeing the GP about your dodgy knee, or to get your HRT changed or that weird rash that has come back. The GP can then read up any notes on that issue, rather than you going in and having to spend time explaining what you are there for.

I am sure receptionists don't want to hear in detail about your medical problems, they, and the GP just want a clue about why you want an appointment.

Oh definitely. Obviously you need to give some information as you say, so they can put you with the best person to deal with it. It's the ones who want it all in detail I can't stand. It's ridiculous to not tell them anything because that's just running to he risk of being sent to the wrong person and wasting an appointment like you said happened to you.

Well for starters because they haven't even heard of my condition so why would I trust their judgment as to whether or not if I needed to see GP?

Yes, this also. But mine have never been rude. Sometimes they don't exactly exude charisma but as you say it's stressful and they probably get a lot of unwarranted abuse.

In other r words there's a big difference between the understandable efforts to filter those people who would be better off going to minor injuries for instance versus receptionists stepping way outside their level of skill and knowledge.

I think those receptionists and others were replying on this thread have only experienced appropriate questions probably don't realize how far some receptionists try and step outside their zone of knowledge and authority.

Me too!

Not a GP but a dentist. Our receptionists are trained to take a brief history of your problem so they can allocate an appropriate appointment. Patients are very clever at times and know that certain symptoms mean that we will automatically see them sooner. It’s amazing how many people ring up “in agony” with “severe swelling” or “extreme pain” only to present with a chipped tooth with no pain and a story that the receptionist assured them that the filling/extraction/treatment would definitely be done today.
I’ve had people who are “flying the next day/that afternoon/are attending their DDs wedding in two hours, only to deny all knowledge of their holiday etc.

Patients assume that receptionists and HCP don’t speak to each other. They do. They have also heard it all before, remember specific patients and know exactly who they are speaking to. If you always start a phone conversation with a health receptionist “I need…” then it triggers the dragon mode. Our receptionist’s favourite is when people walk in and ask to speak to a clinician “it will only take a minute” or “she won’t mind, just ask her” even though they can see the waiting room is full of patients and they were shirty with you when you were running behind at their last scheduled appointment.

You only see a fraction of what receptionists have to deal with and if you are the 20th patient that morning who absolutely has to see the doctor that day but is unwilling to offer any reason why your need is more urgent than any other patient then you will probably get the slightly wracked off receptionist response.

I have learned over the years that all receptionists are much more receptive to kindness. Give a short potted history of your problem then request an appointment. Dont make it hard for them. They really aren’t interested in your health problem they just need the info in order to allocate an appointment.They are trained to sift through information. Generally a tick box exercise that directs them. If they haven’t got an appointment that day they haven’t got one. They can’t conjure up a slot. No amount of arguing ir threatening will change the laws of physics.

I have been using the online triage system at my GPs. The request goes directly to the doctor who is triaging that day. It bypasses the reception and the doctor will prioritise patients who need to be seen or direct them to the service relevent to their request. It gives the GP the opportunity to study your medical notes and make a fuller assessment of needs. As a post cancer patient any problem that could indicate a recurrence is very rapidly addressed, I have other historic medical issues and again if I contact the GP with possible recurrences they are quick to act.

Last year I developed swelling in my hands, it was a side effect of one of the drugs I take but the GP was concerned it could also be a more symptom of more serious problem. I was quickly referred to my specialist and had an MRI within a couple of weeks. My GP had correctly diagnosed me with drug induced carpel tunnel. but was also very aware that it was just as likely to be a flare up of an endocrine problem so wasn’t taking any chances.

If you don’t want to access your GP via the receptionist use the practices online service.

The receptionists at mine are lovely, always really nice, helpful etc, the gp on the other hand 😬

Doesn't your practice have the option to complete an online request for an appointment which is then triaged before an appointment date and time is issued?

Back in the day my friend had Mr T as her sat nav voice - it was hilarious if you missed a turn as Mr T told you in no uncertain terms and finished with 'You Fool'. Loved it! Now you can only have generic male or female I think.

It is annoying but as someone who had to do similar in private healthcare you are trained and have materials to identify red flag symptoms that require immediate attention/those that are more standard and can wait, which clinician etc. They will be given NHS guidelines for this to follow, not just be allowed to decide what they think.

However on the whole I agree unfortunately I've encountered some incredibly rude GP reception/admin staff

That attitude might be a part of the issue you encounter.

They have protocols to follow, and really simply it’s those that determine what appointments are made with who and when. Not you. They work for the practise manager, and have to follow the procedures They’re given. They generally dont have autonomy to work outside that.

When people work with that and respect that I tend to find most are positive and pleasant to interact with. When I tried to fight the systems they had to work with tended to find they got their backs up pretty quickly.

What you want from them and what they have been told to do as part of their job won’t always match.

We don't have an option for online for same day appointments otherwise I would use that gladly

We have no choice but to ring and wait on hold by which point after half an hour or longer of waiting I can imagine that most of the people the receptionists deal with are not feeling their most cheerful. I am always polite to receptionists because I realized it must be a very difficult job but that doesn't mean I haven't come across instances of really inappropriate efforts at gatekeeping. I am a children have chronic conditions in my case quite a rare one and I know much better than a GP receptionist whether or not we need to see a GP in relation to those conditions. We each have very clear care plans that can be followed to gauge when we need to see a GP face to face.

It seems a bit pointless the asthma nurse at the doctor's surgery, for instance, taking care to prepare an asthma care plan for my children only to find that some GP receptionist thinks it doesn't apply

Likewise the charity for my rare condition gives us excellent and detailed clear guidance on when to seek GP help or when to go to A and E and we also get to know our own bodies quite well in terms of gauging the symptoms. This guidance is supported by my neurologist and if I am following that guidance I struggle to see what a GP receptionist thinks that they can add to the mix.

I actually fully understand that but if you have a rare condition for instance actually my red flags are quite different from anything that's likely to be on any standard protocol and if I follow the guidance issued by my specialist charity and endorsed by my neurologist for when to seek medical help. If I have explained this then I don't think a GP receptionist ought to try and follow any standard protocols for overriding that guidance

They’re told to do it so they can direct your inquiry to the correct healthcare professional. The same as an online application for an appointment requires your reason for wanting to be seen.

Most of the receptionists at ours are okay, but there is one who puts the fear of God into you! They normally put her on answering telephones as they know she will keep the number of patients getting appointments to the minimum!

Me too! 'I said turn LEFT you idiot! Now I've got to bloody recalculate the sodding route!'

I understand how frustrating that can be. I suffer from very real white coat hypertension and every time I get a reading at the surgery they want to send me straight to A and E. I know it's the setting and when I take it at home it's nowhere near that level. I suppose with NHS healthcare it's very hard to be treated as an individual as the resources make that difficult.

But in general rather than a case like yours, they will be bombarded with people pushing for an urgent appointment that don't need it.