Receptionist attitude should I complain

[DestituteDesperate]

Feel utterly ashamed of myself, today I watched a doctors receptionist speak so appallingly to two patients and, instead of challenging her, or mentioning it to another staff member, like a coward I froze in fear.

long story short, long queue at surgery for the last appointments of the day and one late 20s girl and another maybe 50s, asked something rather innocuous, as I heard blood test and referral. Each time the receptionist was talking to them both like they committed a crime.

The younger girl took her bollocking and said she would call back on Monday after 2pm. The woman though, fair play, tried to give it back but the receptionist used her leverage as staff to make the woman back down.

maybe both patients had done something so terrible to illicit such a response but the receptionist appeared that she quite enjoyed belittling them, loudly and publicly. The thing is, most of what I heard in the queue was from her tone not theirs.

Most of us were shocked and we did the rather British thing of tut and shake our heads.

However, I am ashamed because I would have desperately wanted someone to stand up for me if I were being baited and humiliated it public and instead I froze (I’ve had an incident where I was reduced to tears so I know how demoralising it can be) instead of being a good human being and standing up for them.

Being so cowardly in that moment, is really affecting me to such an extent on a Friday I’m on MN writing this thread.

should I report what I saw? I know I couldn’t help in the moment but would it be reasonable to report it via an online reporting form or a call on Monday?

or should I let it go and hope she doesn’t humiliate any other patients.

Absolutely complain. It is likely the surgery will back her but it does put a shot across her bows. You can also put a reviews on Google, if you don't get a satisfactory response from the surgery.

I agree, write to practice manager. Some of the others may too.

Yes. Send a message to the practice manager and mention it to your GP when you speak to him/her. It’s totally unacceptable behaviour. Do you know the receptionist’s name? If not, describe her/him.

Harry has probably been hired by the UN to sort out the Middle East.
😂

PLEASE report her. It is not too late. The next person she does this to could be someone like my late mum, who is desperately ill and vulnerable.

6 weeks before she died from cancer, my late mother was subjected to similar treatment. We'd been in A&E/Urgent Care all weekend, having an emergency MRI on her spine. Her cancer was so advanced she was unable to stand. The hospital only discharged mum on the understanding she would see the GP the next day.

The oncology team wrote to the GP requesting a morphine prescription but asked mum to telephone as it would be faster than waiting for the letter.

Mum was then met by the GP's intractable telepohone receptionist, who despite being told she'd been held in A&E all weekend, refused to add mum to the emergency appointments list, on the grounds that "they had enough patients for the day". My desperately ill mum gave up pleading to speak to a GP and phoned me, distraught.

My mum was lucky. She had a daughter that doubled as a Rottweiler. When I rang the surgery, I got the same treatment, before calmly asking to speak to the practice manager and requesting details of their formal complaints procedure.

A telephone appointment miraculously became available within the hour. The morphine prescription (which the spiteful receptionist had said no doctor could issue as my terminally ill mum "might have got better since her last appointment") was dispensed immediately .

Sadly, I've spoken to a number of vulnerable elderly people with extremely serious medical conditions, who've been treated the same way by practice clerical staff. They didn't have a bolshy relative to step in and fight their corner.

Please, please report it.

Why should you think that? There are good people around.

Our local practice moved the two original receptionists to another branch because so many reviews said they were so horrible. It’s one job where personality really needs to be looked at and not just efficiency/ receptionists’ tasks

We've found that it's the places where they have the "anti abuse signs" that offer the worst service, hence why they get abuse. Funny that places with good customer service don't have those signs!

What did you see though? Do you have any idea the shit they have to take? Emergency appointments are just that - things that need immediate attention. She's been trained to recognise those cases, you have not. That patient could have been the one that gives them shit every day. But yeah, if it makes you feel better, write to the practice manager.

Its tongue in cheek sarcasm obviously it didnt click

They're not trained to recognise these things at all. They don't have the basic underpinning to differentiate between the computer said no to actual medical knowledge.

This little trend should have died with COVID lockdowns.
I want to see a medic not a member of the admin team thanks.

As I said on earlier in this thread. I am a HCP and know substantially more than a receptionist when it comes to health. I was able to advocate myself and override her lack of basic medical knowledge and shitty attitude. Not everyone can do this. I ended up in hospital. An 80 year old who can't advocate for themselves would have probably gone home.

And I imagine a lot of the shit they deal with is very well deserved.

@DestituteDesperate
Do something about what you witnessed
I've had my share of snarky impervious receptionists in my time
So now if anything arises when I'm at rhe doctors
I've told a few that without the sick
They'd not have patients
And I'm going to make a formal complaint

One of the issues with this shortage of appointments (which is not the fault of the reception staff) is that by the time people see the doctor, they have A List! Our GP, who is lovely, once said to me "Oh no, you have a list! Right, hand it over. The most important thing is almost always at the bottom." He was, of course, absolutely right. 😆

Mr G has dementia and there is nothing he enjoys more than a medical appointment, during which he masks and appears perfectly normal. This is fine with the GP, who understands, but I currently need to persuade a rather arrogant ophthalmic surgeon that if he performs lower eyelid surgery I will not be dealing with the gory consequences!

Absolutely report it. I'm a doctor's receptionist and there's absolutely no way I would speak to patients like this. It's abusive!

If enough people complain about her the surgery will absolutely discipline her.

Why? People should call out abusive behaviour when they see it

You can report it but I'm quite convinced that the purpose of GP Receptionists is to deter people from going to the GP at all and they deliberately recruit the most mean girl jobs worths they can find. I certainly have given up on trying to get through the wall of dragons and if I have a health problem I just hope it goes away.

I am glad you are going to report it. I had a similar situation and when I wrote to the practice manager I expressed that I had found it difficult to return to the surgery to get what I needed, and that if I had been a person with anxiety or just less robust it may have stopped me from getting the help I deserved. That receptionist didn't last.

Just a thought, perhaps it’s you that’s the mean girl.

So you'll go to the back of the queue with another hospital, who knows nothing about your background and who may not even accept your case - well done you.

The hospital shouldn't say you must see your GP tomorrow and they will issue this that etc, they have no idea what the GP has on appointment wise - an appointment wasn't magically found, they doubled up, so the GP worked into their lunch or after hours or cut someone else short!

If a hospital is sending someone home on morphine - they should sort it out with a hospital prescription or clear instructions how to get in in the community they shouldn't expect someone else to do it

Absolutely report this. If she is doing it to them she will be doing it to much more vulnerable patients and that’s worrying. The fact you were an onlooker will make your complaint stronger I would think.

Really, traines during her seven yeaes at medical school?

These people will be feeling awful about their interactions. Drs receptionists really do try to earn their title of Dragons sometimes!
I would report it and suggest she has additional training.

Report it. I came up against a similarly horrible receptionist once. I've seen her since when she was at a flu clinic, she was like a different person, smiley and lovely with all the kids. Sometimes they get overwhelmed and just need a little help to become an asset to the practice.