Feeling rubbish after being spoken to like shit by the hospital. AIBU?

[Ir10465]

Suppose just looking for people to say they’ve experienced the same because right now im
feeling so sensitive and delicate!

I’ve had to have a procedure booked quite urgently. It’s not a massive operation but i will have to wait for results afterwards. It’s not exactly been the nicest thing to deal with.

I had to call the secretary today about a pre op letter which didn’t reflect what I was told at the appointment so i needed to double check what I was supposed to do prior to the op. The first women I spoke to was absolutely lovely and said she’d check and someone would call back.

I got a call back half an hour later and was honestly spoken to like shit. She was so aggressive with me and practically hung up
on me. I was completely polite to her and wasn’t asking excessive questions or anything like that. I know everyone can have a bad day but this is a delicate situation and I was genuinely in tears after the call. I’m not a sensitive person and rarely feel impacted by other people’s behaviour but this was something else. Is this just what it’s like when you are unfortunate enough to need the NHS? Im dreading going in for the actual procedure now

PALS. No one should put up with that.

@ThatJadeLion is that applicable to secretarial staff though? I don’t want to make a fuss that could be deemed uncalled for but I truly came off the phone feeling horrendous and all I was trying to do was get it right for the procedure!

It's difficult to comment without knowing what she actually said to you. Some people can come across as sounding abrupt.

I have to say I'm quite surprised and totally sympathetic. I had a procedure booked today (rather personal) but I wimped out. The consultant was kind, referred me on to a nurse to talk to and she made another appointment in two weeks time. I'm sorry you didn't get the same treatment.

I'm with you, OP. If you're gonna have a job dealing with people who are sick (and often frightened), you need the bedside manner, even if you're not an actual doctor.

I just couldn’t understand why she was being so unpleasant. The worst part about the procedure is the staff!

Spot on with this comment.

Yeah I've had similar on a number of occasions OP, makes you wonder how people like that actually get jobs.

YABU to assume all NHS staff will be bad because you met a bad one. Why not assume they will otherwise all be like the lovely first person you spoke to?

YANBU that's its not on how you were treated though.

On the one hand appointment bookings are often done by people that won't know much more than you about the details of the procedure. One the other hand there is no excuse for responding to a polite enquiry with rudeness and I'd be complaining about that.

PALS is about the whole hospital experience. They sorted out dietary requirements for me, which were being ignored/obstructed during a 2-week emergency hospital stay.

YANBU. Hope the op goes well.

Absolutely contact PALS it applies to all hospital staff, it helps if you can give clear examples of why she was so rude, rather than just saying she was rude to you