Gp practices - bully culture

[Sloneranger97]

Sorry for the long rant I’m really upset about this!

Feeling really down and anxious about my new work colleagues. I very recently started a new job and I’m finding my colleagues extremely rude and unhelpful. My first day was last week and I got along okay as I’ve worked in the sector before so I just about know the standard procedure for the job but still needed to get used to this particular workplace’ protocol.

A example of my colleagues rude/mean girl behaviour : I came in to speak with the manager for a quick chat before I stated the job, and as I was walking out one of my colleagues nudged another one and said “look look at her” and they both giggled until they noticed that I saw. Another example would be : on my first day they left me outside knocking for 15 mins as I hadn’t been given keys yet to open up in the morning and then proceeded to ignore me throughout the day when I asked questions.

I looked on the rota file a few days ago and found that staff seem to leave every 1/2 months!(they are not temps). I’ve worked in a few gp practices in the past and I’m starting to see a pattern of clique like behaviour -I’m hoping to hear back from other jobs that I’ve applied for because I find myself crying everyday before work now due to this . Has anyone else has this in workplaces ?

Thanks🙏

I haven’t worked in a GP practice but I worked with someone (in a healthcare setting), who was a former GP receptionist for many years, and who was the rudest, laziest, most entitled, and most rubbish at her job person I’ve had the misfortune to work with and I’ve worked with many types of people in many types of settings! So much so that I had to resign as I just couldn’t work with her.

Unfortunately toxic workplaces normally attract toxic people which is why they can get away with this behaviour. I’ve never understood why healthcare in particular seems to have an abundance of this, you’d think it would attract caring people!

I’d be concentrating on getting into a new job sharpish OP as nothing will change. Unless you can just leave immediately?

Make sure you put in a grievance about this behaviour when you leave so it’s on record. I wouldn’t do it before as it’ll just make things even more unbearable IME.

I'm also new to working In GP practices, I currently work in a PCN and work across 5
Practices.. planning to leave ASAP. All of them have awful management and bitchy school type atmospheres never known anything like it! And I've worked in NHS and other places and this is like going back in time.. it must be a thing

I used to work in a GP practice as a receptionist about 6 years ago and worked in 2 practices over 8 years, it gives me shivers just thinking about it. The management were vile and the staff very bitchy in both practices. I absolutely hated it. I'd keep looking for another job asap and get out of there as it's highly unlikely anything will change. I work for the trust now as a PA and really love my job, the people I work with are great and the job is so flexible compared to the GP practices. Best thing I ever done was get out of that environment and I would never recommend it to anyone.

Thanks all for your input! Safe to say I’m not going mad then 😂. I have a few interviews this week , hoping I can leave ASAP!

I have worked in 3 different practices over the last 21 years. The first was awful, but I just used it to gain experience and stayed for a year. The second was a lovely place to work and I stayed for many, many years until I moved. The last one - well it was such a toxic place that I left after a year with no job to go to. Managers were rude to many of the staff and there were staff there just bitching about everyone all the time. Some of the people I worked with were lovely but they didn't make up for the toxic environment. I hated it so much.

I don't why things have become so much worse in GP surgeries but I know that it wasn't always like this in all surgeries. I will never work in a GP surgery again, that's for sure.

Good luck with your interviews, I hope you get out of there soon.

I’m really tempted to leave immediately as it simply unbearable but obviously don’t want to be left without a job by the end of the month . I’m going to ask management if I can drop some of my days- hopefully that will ease the stress until I get an answer from the other jobs I’m interviewing with

One of our GP practice receptionists is someone I used to have the misfortune of working with around 25 years ago in an accountancy practice. Back then, she only lasted 6 months before she was sacked as she was lazy, rude, entitled and a constant back-stabber. She had been working at our village GP surgery for around 20 years now - she's horrible, literally everything is a big hassle for her, lots of sighing and eye rolling whenever anyone asks her for anything, i.e. patients wanting an appointment or a specimen bottle. Everyone in the village says the same about her. I'll actually put down the phone when I phone the surgery and she answers as I know I'll not get any satisfactory response from her. Sadly, GP surgeries seem like a place where lazy/horrible people tend to find their niche and wait out the remainder of their working lives!!

Not worked in a GP practice, but had the misfortune to note which admin staff last for years - it is never the nice ones. One has to wonder how this pattern continues - the managers and doctors must know, so they obviously don't care how others, including their patients, are treated.

I used to find that the partners were quite nice but it turns out they know exactly what’s going on and turn a blind eye . When reports are made either from patients or staff they all seem to cover it up 😳. Working in primary care has really opened my eyes in terms of what the staff are able to get away with !