to really have it in for GP's surgeries...

[mersmam]

Had an appointment with my community midwife today (I'm 30 weeks pregnant and haven't seen her since I was 16 weeks, which was when she made the appointment.)
Got to the drs surgery to find it locked and a notice up saying that the surgery is closed this afternoon for staff training! As far as I'm aware there has been no attempt to contact me about this! I rang the midwife's office straight away but could only leave a message and have so far had no response.
Am really annoyed as have arranged my whole day around the appointment (and DH had arranged to work from home so he could come too).
Generally I am just sick of the whole GP system - I can never get an appointment at a convenient time - when I do I always have to wait at least half an hour (no joke with three DCs under 5) and the staff on reception are rude.
I asked for a home visit once as I was ill along with all the DCs and you'd think I'd asked for the moon...

The thing with the midwife today feels like the final straw...

Should I change surgeries to somewhere further away (which would be less convenient?) or are they all like this?

On occasion receptionists at my surgery have been curt, rude, defensive and imperious. That's how some receptionists - not all, but a good many at my practice - start for openers without provocation.

Yes, they have a difficult job. We're all aware of that. Emotions run high around health matters and worried people. But this subject crops up again and again on mn, so it must be a fairly common experience.

If they could just be a little kinder and less cynical it would be nice. Not everyone wants to waste the doctors time; not everyone is a hypochondriac; not everyone can't make it to the surgery because they can't be bothered to try.

Why the deep sighs and the chippy attitude then even before you have started to be a 'problem'? It's not necessary surely.

And on one occasion I did complain to the practice manager, but the attitude, the outward projection that these pesky patients are such a nuisance - continues here by and large, I'm sorry to say.

The best thing our surgery did was to switch to a triage system whereby a nurse phones you back to assess whether you should see her or the doctor. I'm always very happy to see a nurse too btw - I think they are excellent.

Trying to beg an appointment from the receptionist before that system used to be nightmarish though.

I think rudeness can be infectious in organisations. Once one person is seen to get away with being snappy and unhelpful, suddenly others think they have grounds to behave like that as well. We have admin staff like that in my department, thanks to a particularly ill-conceived reorganisation, and their behaviour can be jaw-droppingly shocking at times, and it also wastes the organisation a lot of time and money. We are in the process of getting rid of the main offenders and replacing them with more competent, professional types.

IME this can happen in surgeries as well, and it needs a good firm practice manager to keep things on the straight and narrow and make sure that there is some sort of equilibium between doctors, administrators and patients.

I do know there is a lunatic fringe determined to abuse the NHS by asking ambulances to bring tampons around for them and so on, but for every nutter there are probably 500 people trying to avoid ringing and taking up staff time, but very worried about something nonetheless, and perhaps 10 or 20 of them will have non-self-limiting conditions that really do need a proper medical view. However if the 10 or 20 were able to identify themselves, there would be little need for GPs anyway, so engaging with these people in the right way should be seen as necessary and sensible, rather than treating them all as timewasters.

NL - IMVHE - That is just rubbish. Jobsworths springs to mind. Just because you work for a doctor does'nt mean you are on the same level as them.

Mersmam - I can't speak for them all, but that sounds exactly what my surgery would do too. Probably no point in changing.

Just to update you!
I spoke to the midwife this morning who said that a note had been put on the surgery door (obviously after I arrived) saying you needed to knock on the door (which was locked) if you had a midwife appt. She said the surgery had forgotten about it being the afternoon that the midwife had appointments so she had asked them to put the note up when she arrived...
When I was there (mine must have been the first appointment of the afternoon)the door was locked and the only note said that there were no appointments due to the surgery being closed for training (I tried to open the door anyway but it was locked, and am not the kind of person that hammers on doors when I want something )
The midwife was at least, very apologetic so I do feel a bit better about it.
Am not bothering to complain to the surgery as they are obviously aware of what happened and all I can hope to get from them is abuse (which I don't feel I can cope with at the moment!)

I have to say that in someways I wish I hadn't started this thread. I find the attitude from Northernlurker (and the other people who have posted here and are supposed to work in the 'caring' profession) that most of the people they are paid to provide a service for are ''sick and/or obnoxious people'' (from N-L's first post) very upsetting. Is this generally how doctors and their staff view their patients? Seems so from here.
As someone who is not rude to others and (mostly!) very quiet and non-assertive, I find it frightening that I am forced to place my health and my children's health in the hands of people who have so little respect for their 'customers'.

Boffinmum - I completely agree with your post about rudeness being infectious in organisations.

I personally think there are very few 'obnoxious' people in the world - seems strange that so many of them would be attracted to GPs surgeries.

OO that could probably be taken the wrong way!! Did NOT mean that the staff in surgeries are obnoxious, but that they seem to assume (from the posts here anyway) that patients in general are 'obnoxious' !!

You are totally twisting this to suit your own argument. NorthernLurker, and many others, including myself, did not say that everyone we deal with are rude and obnoxious, just that people working in such jobs have to deal with a LOT of rude and obnoxious people,so it cuts both ways.

I said I have to take a lot of crap from customers but I certainly do not think they are all rude and obnoxious, and I have lots of respect for them, if they are pleasant to me as well! I am praised often for being friendly, in fact.

I find your post pretty offensive tbh, I did have some sympathy for you with your OP but that last post was pretty harsh.

I didn't take it to mean you thought I was obnoxious, but that I thought all patients were obnoxious, and had no respect for them, which in itself is quite insulting IMO.

Am actually seriously considering a different line of work, it is getting pretty wearing going all out every day to be friendly and polite to people, SOME of whom are rude, and then constantly reading posts on here slating receptionists.

steps away

I'm really pleased to hear that FFTM, and that is the kind of attitude I would have assumed people in your profession to have and I am reassured to know that you do feel that way.

I did not mean my post to be harsh - but I was really upset by some of the posts last night and got the honest impression from them that in general the medical profession does not like patients!! (I actually went to bed in tears about it - bear in mind I am 30 weeks pg though )To refer to people you deal with everyday as 'obnoxious' does seem pretty harsh to me - are these not people who are ill and sometimes desperate for some care and compassion?

I would like more posts like the above one from you as I want to be reassured that the impression I was given last night was a wrong one. Sorry to have offended you - and as you respect your customers and are praised for being friendly you sound like a credit to your profession!

have to admit I haven't read the whole thread but YABU re waiting times - it's not the doctor's fault if the surgery over runs.

steps back OK, I forgive you I am sorry you were in tears. It is just a bugbear of mine, so many posts on here regularly about receptionists being on power trips etc, when really we are just there as instruments of the doctor/dentist and have strict rules to implement and little discretion to help patients as much as we would like.

Some people we deal with ARE obnoxious for no reason I'm afraid, unfortunately it's not an ideal world and there are some obnoxious people out there, and a lot of them are probably obnoxious even when sick.

I don't think we have a default view of patients as obnoxious though. I was however surprised when I started the job by how rude the public can be, seriously.

even when well, I meant!

I'm going to regret this, but again, why is the MEDICAL PROFESSION at fault here? I thought you were upset at your appt with a midwife being cancelled because the surgery was shut for training. why is this the GPs fault and why does this involve you slagging off the medical profession????

Except that it seems to be the accepted belief that all GPs are crap and everyone on mumsnet can slag them off comfortably without being slated.

And by the way, the medical profession treats PATIENTS, not customers or clients. We are old fashioned in that way.

I understand that sometimes I may have to wait, but at our surgery I don't think I've ever had to wait less than 30 mins (and that includes for an appointment at 9am!)
Anyway, that is not a main gripe really - I understand that sometimes things over-run and it's unavoidable.

cass - I agree, I have seen GPs posting on here and people don't believe them, it really gets my goat! I saw a doctor posting last night about medicine dosages and people were ignoring her advice!

I do not want to criticise the medical profession believe it or not, my hope in starting this was to be reassured that they actually do care about their patients!
The surgery is at fault because I could not get inside when i had an appointment - the staff locked it because they forgot the midwife was coming so surely someone is at fault there?

I referred to them as 'customers' to remind people who (seemed to me) to think of patients as 'obnoxious' that they are paid to deal with them.

We didn't all post slagging off the medical profession/receptionists or whatever. We complained about rudeness, inefficiency and lack of consideration for other people.

If as a receptionist you can't be polite to people on the front line, then they are in the wrong job.

Can I just say I am not well at the moment and in clinics and surgeries all the time, and I was trying to think to when the last time was that I heard a patient being rude or unreasonable to a receptionist. I can't actually recall an occasion. I have heard the receptionists being rude, offhand or brusque to people though, probably about a third of the time. Just a thought.

Thanks for the forgiveness FFTM!! I will take some of your points on board and DO understand that your job must be difficult at times.
I will try to be more understanding and patient with my surgery - but I also hope that some of the posters on here might try to think a LITTLE more of their patients in general and remember they are often very nice people who are under extreme levels stress - just like them

BOffinMum - you don't call that slagging off receptionists?

or maybe you weren't posting originally to slag us off but just complaining about rudeness, but now you are slagging us off?

No, I was being critical of the behaviour of some of them.

It makes such a difference when they manage to reciprocate politeness and patients feel less vulnerable. I happen to think it is a key part of the job.

No, I was being critical of the behaviour of some of them.

It makes such a difference when they manage to reciprocate politeness and patients feel less vulnerable. I happen to think it is a key part of the job.

Am not expecting much from GPs, period. Couple of times when I've had to visit the surgery, it has been an absolute waste of time.
The GP made the 'diagnoses' along the lines - well, not really sure what it is but why don't you try taking this, if it won't work, make another appointment to see me... arrghhh. The cursed Google self-diagnones is more accurate.