Medical Receptionist

All I had asked for was how to request an increase in medication. The practice's online service does not tell patients which of the practice personel is the one to ask. The receptionist can advise how to ask for medical/pharmacological advice. I thought it was a simple task for the receptionist to tell me who to make the appointment with.

But instead she instructed me how to use eyedrops. Bad communication such as this can make patients distrustful of the practice.

Callistemon21

^Oh and they double check any medication that has been dispensed by the receptionist, too. It’s a pretty thankless job a lot of the time because they then get the blame for everything^

Surely they don't dispense medication?
A qualified pharmacist has to do that. Even if his/her assistants make up the medications, it has to be checked by a pharmacist.

The doctor double checks the prescription. If it’s done at a pharmacy then someone will dispense it and it will be checked by the pharmacist. If you look at the label on the prescription there is a little box with two signatures on it, the dispenser and the doctor or pharmacist. The dispenser will have done a course in dispensing. We always told patients that, if the thought that something wasn’t right about a prescription they must query it as mistakes can be made and every mistake has to be recorded.

Fleurpepper

You told the GP exactly what you wanted? Really?

Really! And got it! And that's at a private consultancy.

As a previous doctors' receptionist we were told to advise patients to put oil in their ears and were not allowed to make the appointment until the required number of days for putting in the oil had passed. If a patient turned up for an ear syringe without having done this the wax could be so impacted that it would be impossible to remove and could in fact damage the ear drum should it be attempted.
Therefore practices allowing receptionists to give this advice saves a potential waste of everyone's time.

I think they have a lot to put up with. I have just ordered repeat prescriptions (online), and saw that one item was not available, so sent a message asking why I couldn't have it, as it was due. As soon as I pressed 'send', I realised that we are still in January, not February as I'd been thinking. I immediately sent another message apologising, but if I hadn't realised it would have fallen to the receptionist to call me and say I couldn't have the drugs I thought I needed and had been made unavailable.

However. I really do think that there should be much tighter training about confidentiality. Not just in GP surgeries, but in hospitals, where they are often worse, in my experience. They often shout out names, dates of birth, addresses etc in front of others in the waiting room, and the safety glass (which I understand they may need) means that older people in particular often get fairly private details discussed loudly enough for others to hear. Now that so much is done by phone, I have had several calls when I've been on a bus, or in company, and have had to cut them short when they've launched into a conversation that I didn't want to have in front of others.

A quick 'is this convenient' before starting the conversation would go a long way.

Oh and they double check any medication that has been dispensed by the receptionist, too. It’s a pretty thankless job a lot of the time because they then get the blame for everything

Surely they don't dispense medication?
A qualified pharmacist has to do that. Even if his/her assistants make up the medications, it has to be checked by a pharmacist.

I was at doctor’s today - actually in person! Whilst waiting at reception an elderly man couldn’t hear through masks and screens, so receptionist came out.

It transpired he was asking for a GP appt. but she proceeded, in the public corridor, with me as a bystander, to question the man about reason for appt. He then had to go into detail about his bladder and prostate problems.

There is a notice saying the receptionists can ask reason for requesting GP appt, which is reasonable, but I think in this case it was a breach of confidentiality because it was done in a public area, rather than somewhere more discreet.

You do realise that it’s the receptionists that probably do all of your repeat prescriptions etc
That's not advice, though.

We have a dedicated prescription clerk who does repeats at our surgery. I spoke to her for the first time yesterday and she was very helpful.

Waste costs the NHS billions a year.

You do realise that it’s the receptionists that probably do all of your repeat prescriptions etc. All the doctors do are speak to you at your appointment and add any information onto the computer, look at medication reviews ( that have been sent to them by said receptionist) and look at any B/T results. Oh and they double check any medication that has been dispensed by the receptionist, too. It’s a pretty thankless job a lot of the time because they then get the blame for everything.

I wondered if the doctors had instructed the receptionists to give advice about simple procedures. The advice about instilling olive oil in ear was reasonable.

It was unnecessary for the receptionist to advise me about use of eye drops as all I had asked her was whether I needed to make a telephone appointment with the doctor to increase the amount prescribed. I had not asked for a lecture on how not to waste the eye drops.

We are advised that our receptionists will screen patients and will ask medical questions.

It's beyond their remit imo.

Some receptionists are retired nurses. I'm lucky enough to have one at my doctor's surgery. She doesn't give advice but does ask what's wrong so she can get the most serious on the list treated first.

If the advice is actually from a doctor or nurse the receptionist is fully entitled to pass it on.

It would be better if she said something like "The nurse advises that you do such and such." then there would be no doubt that it is medical advice given by a medical professional.

Our GP surgery have started ear syringing or similar now, they had stopped during Covid.

We only knew because when DH had a hearing test at Specsavers and was told he had wax, they suggested he had it done at surgery. Otherwise would not have known. Specsavers would have done it, but they said as it was free at doctor’s, have it done there.

A 1 minute appointment with nurse telling him he needed to put olive oil in, which we knew he would have to, then back for syringing weeks later.

GPs around here don’t do ear syringing any more - you have to pay privately and they invariably tell you that you must use olive oil drops for at least 5 days beforehand.

The worst receptionist I ever encountered once asked at the top of her voice across a crowded waiting room, ‘What’s it about?’ To which I replied, I’ll discuss that with the doctor, thank you.’ Ages ago now - I knew her slightly - she was just obnoxious and unbelievably nosy.

Ditto my intensely private mother was once highly embarrassed by a receptionist asking out loud across the waiting area - ‘Is it about your waterworks, dear?’ 😱

I wouldn't expect any advice from a receptionist who has had no medical training whatsoever, you or I could do the job.
I do suspect that some practise are suggesting this to cut down on workload, hence the change in the receptionist's titles.

The team at my GP Surgery has made mistakes with my prescriptions. When I discover this at the pharmacy where my scripts are sent, I then phone the surgery, explain what seems to have happened (or ask, whichever's appropriate) and it is sorted out.

Recently I repeated a repeat prescription request because they'd mistaken what I asked for for something else that starts with the same letter and which I also get on repeat. The receptionist team leader rang me at home because she didn't understand what the problem was. I explained and she corrected the mistake. I thanked her for taking the trouble.

Our practice no longer does ear syringing - we have to pay for it privately.

You told the GP exactly what you wanted? Really?

Strange that I should read this heading because I had a run in with a receptionist yesterday. The surgery and chemists between them had lost 2 of my prescriptions and I was told to pick the 3rd one up from the surgery for it not to get lost. You guessed, they had lost the 3rd one. I got a lecture from the receptionist about Covid, staff illness, the state of the world until I showed her the text I had received. When she read it she rearranged for the GP on duty to write me a new one. I stood over the GP's shoulder and told her exactly what I wanted. Finally, after ten days I got what I needed. It beggars belief. Rant over.

It's quite possible that some receptionists are asked to give these very commonly known pieces of advice.

As maybee says, some docs – including mine some years ago – gave the same olive oil in the ears advice. I actually prefer sodium bicarbonate eardrops but the principle is the same. Why waste a doc's time with small stuff like this when there aren't enough GPs?

Receptionists are part of the team. I doubt they would give such advice without being asked to by the team leaders.

Our GP surgery advises two weeks of using oil, before an appointment can be made.
It's the protocol, not a receptionist given unsolicited advice.

No wonder doctors don't have time to give real essential advice when it is required!

Fannycornforth Disgusting, I hope they took that person off their list.

I recently had a telephone appointment with my doctor, a lovely lady and told her how much I appreciated what she did and she said " your going to make me cry now"