To be annoyed at the GP receptionist for being arsey about this?

[SneakyGremlin]

Had a GP phone appointment booked for 13:10 today, for something that needs sorting today (think medication review/replacement). Took my break at work from 13:00-13:30. 13:35 came, still no call, so I went back to work.

Finished work at 4:00 p.m, checked my phone and saw a missed call at 13:41 - so I rang back asking could I possibly get the GP to call me now as I'm not longer in work.

GP receptionist huffs, says she'll try but I should have kept an eye on my phone as they can't always help when it's the patients who missed the appointments. When I then point out to her that actually they rang half an hour after my scheduled appointment, which is why I missed it, she said that that shouldn't be relevant and I should always be by the phone because it's known that GPs run late sometimes.

AIBU to want to complain, or at least mention to the GP who I'm still waiting to call that some of us can't stop doing our jobs and wait for a call just because THEY are running late? If they'd sent a text or something that they were running behind I could have taken my break later and probably kept the appointment.

It feels like I'm being told off like a naughty child because THEY were late.

Yeah i think some feedback needs to be sent about their attitude but also to make the appointment process clearer. Some people might have waited but they need to appreciate others have set shifts at work etc so can’t sit there by the phone for an unlimited amount of time. I would say the receptionist describing it as a missed appointment was rude.

I had exactly the same last time - four hours late and I missed it because I was desperate for a wee and absolutely had to go. I had literally been sitting with my phone in my hand the whole time because I really needed the call. She was so rude to me. In the end I got a call back quite quickly, but she had tried to make out it was my fault!

That is the really frustrating thing with telephone appointments. They seem to forget sometimes that other people have jobs too and can’t just sit and wait for a call.

hope you get it sorted

Yes the last time i had a call, it was over an hour late so i ended up calling the surgery to double check i was still on their list. They were just running super late but hadn’t told me. I was lucky it was after work.

It is frustrating but there is always a caveat with telephone appointments that they could be earlier or later. I receive a call from my oncology team every three weeks prior to cancer treatment and they are rarely at the exact time. They once called two hours early! so yes, I always have the phone by my side even if I am working. I appreciate not all jobs allow you to do this. No excuse for her to talk to you like that though.

If I'd had a text to say they were running late I wouldn't have minded at all.

I know at my surgery when you have an in-person appointment the display screen tells you how many minutes late the GP is running so I guess I was hoping that there was some sort of digital equivalent?

My SIL had similar. Receptionist went quiet when SIL pointed out politely that she too was a doctor and had surgery scheduled on a patient!

there is always a caveat with telephone appointments that they could be earlier or later

Which OP covered by being ready 10 mins before & 20 mins after the scheduled time.

We don’t even get given a time slot for a telephone consultation, it’s an abrupt text message saying a GP will call you on whatever date and to be available until 6pm. God forbid that you need to go out or even have a toilet break during that time. The phone will ring twice then the GP hangs up and you’re marked down as missing your appointment.

I agree with this, and would add that it might be important to get it on the record that YOU DID NOT MISS THE APPOINTMENT.

Our GP's waiting room, and other NHS places I've been lately, have big, prominent posters stressing the cost of missed appointments. You don't want to get on the Naughty List.

Do GP’s or the practice manager give receptionists a hard time? As they universally seem arsey! and no YANBU.

This is why those lists of missed appointments should be taken with a very large pinch of salt.

I've just rang back and have been told the receptionist will "ask" but there's no guarantee I'll be spoken to.

I didn't bloody miss the appointment!!!

I’ve had similar experiences. Once I was meant to have a medication review in the afternoon (no specific time given). No call came so I called the surgery about 4:45 and was told “Oh yes, you’re on the list to be called, just wait a bit longer”. Still no call so, the following morning, I called again and they said “It doesn’t look as though the lady’s done any of the calls - we’ll let you know another time”. I got no notice of this and phoned again after about a week and explained what had happened and was asked “Did the person you spoke to put you in the queue?” Well no one had mentioned any queue to me so I didn’t know but they put me in the queue. I eventually got the review about ten months later!

So you have your phone on you to check messages? But not to see phone calls?

Surely work places understand the need to answer call for a doctor - it's not like you'd be gossiping away with a friend. Especially if you haven't had the| call during your break and was still expecting it.

From my GP I get a we will aim to call you between 8am - 1pm.

I would give them the feedback and ask them to note that you didn’t miss the appointment- they did. I had an in-person appointment with a GP recently at 08:10. That’s the second appointment of the session. He kept me waiting for 45 minutes, no message to reception for them to update me. He was somewhat surprised when he eventually called me and I told him that I had to be back home for a meeting at 9am so couldn’t have the consultation. I did suggest that in those circumstances where he felt a patient needed more time he should get reception to manage the flow. He had never thought of that…
On another occasion at the dentist, 08:30 appointment, I was there at 08:25, surgery was closed. Receptionist appeared at 08:30, made me wait outside while she opened up, logged on etc, let me in and then said she would have to mark me down as late because it was now almost 08:40. The dentist wasn’t there either and when I pointed out that I couldn’t possibly be late when I was in fact the only person involved who was on time, she held her ground. I complained to the practice manager because that situation was so ridiculous as to be unbelievable.

Not all workplaces will be able to be understanding, even if they want to be. Just off the top of my head:
A bus driver.
A dr, nurse, or other HCP with their own appointments & patients.
A teacher who can’t leave their class alone.

ETA - I still think it’s not unreasonable for the GP to be late. Sometimes that happens and it’s no one’s fault. But it’s also not the phone call patient’s fault if they then miss it.

At my surgery you are given an appointment time but it means nothing because phone appointments are only “morning” or “afternoon”. And if they don’t have time for you in the morning then you just have to wait by the phone all afternoon until they call. It’s a stupid system. But I can’t remember the last time I had an in-person appointment that wasn’t at least half an hour late so the timings are just a vague guide

I'm a hotel receptionist so my phone has to be kept in the back while I'm working on the front, so if I'm not also in the back on my break I can't answer it.

yanbu! I hate this nonsense op. They seem to think that all of their patients are all at home all day. I last had a telephone appointment scheduled at 12. I was available 11-2. After which I am needed back in court (for wok) the idea that u should simply have my phone handy is ludicrous. So many jobs simply cannot accommodate this.

I don’t have any signal in work so if they don’t call on my break/lunch then I get nothing

I think you’re being very unreasonable. A phone consultation with a GP is just the same as a face to face one in that doctors often run late and can do little about it. I don’t think half an hour after your appointment time is unreasonably late on the part of the doctor, and of course you should have kept your phone ready for the call.

On another occasion at the dentist, 08:30 appointment, I was there at 08:25, surgery was closed. Receptionist appeared at 08:30, made me wait outside while she opened up, logged on etc, let me in and then said she would have to mark me down as late because it was now almost 08:40. The dentist wasn’t there either and when I pointed out that I couldn’t possibly be late when I was in fact the only person involved who was on time, she held her ground. I complained to the practice manager because that situation was so ridiculous as to be unbelievable

Steam would be coming out of my ears at that, @AnAudacityofinlaws ! What was the response? They can’t possibly have backed the receptionist up?!

SMH! 😖

That is ludicrous!