Bloody doctor's receptionists.

RubyL

we have a 'patient participation group' at our surgery where issues like this are raised and sorted. Inquire if your surgery has one.

I know I've said it on here before, but my GP's surgery is brilliant. A few days ago I telephoned at 11:30 and requested a same day appointment; I was asked if I minded giving the receptionist some indication of the problem, which I was happy to do. At 4pm I saw a GP, picked up my prescription at the on-site pharmacy and was back home by 5pm.
Medical receptionists are properly trained and are bound by the same rules of confidentiality as a nurse or doctor so I have no problem with telling them what's up.

In your case Rubyl- you had so much on your plate, and no wonder you forgot. The receptionist should have picked up on that and done everything possible to help.

BUT, and there is a big BUT - you'd be amazed how many people who have no excuse whatsowever just phone or walk in to the surgery and expecting things to HAPPEN NOW- threatening, swearing, and even menacing physically. Receptionists unfortunately to have to grow a thick skin to survive- some patients make their life hell.

In the last year of OH's career as a GP- after being called out on emergencies several times one evening- he had just got into bed at 2.30am when the phone rang again. He was told to go immediately to visit a young man with a headache. OH asked him how long he had had it- reply- since 4pm. Asked him if he had taken somethiing for it. Reply- no, I've run out of paracetamol and can't be **sked to go to local 24 garage- and its your job to bring me some. If you don't I'll sue.

Just one of many many stories I could tell.

(((hugs)))

Sometimes we do find a Fairy Godreceptionist as indeed I did 4 years ago.
I woke up one morning with what I thought was a chest infection and I felt really unwell.
I decided to go to our local drop-in centre rather than try to get an appt at my Gps'.
After waiting a while, I saw a Nurse who after examination told me that all I needed was a particular type of cough medicine. I went to the Pharmacy in Tesco, and by now, I was getting a little short of breath. The Pharmacist looked at me and told me to go back to the drop-in centre because he thought that I needed antibiotics.
When I did get back to the centre, the receptionist recognised me and mentioned that I had been seen already. By now, my breathing was getting worse and I found it a bit difficult to answer.
Without any hesitation she literally rushed out to get a Doctor, (not a Nurse this time).
I was immediately given an Inhaler which I had to use several times over, and several steroid tablets. I had a fever too. I was with the Doctor for about 30 minutes until she was happy to let me go with a prescription for more steroids and antibiotics. However, I was told that if I did not see a vast improvement within 4 hours, I would have to go to A+E and be admitted to hospital.
I was very, very lucky because I did recover.
It turned out that I was having an Asthma attack.
I have never had Asthma in my life, but I had been given a multi flu jab not long before and one of the side effects was Asthma when I checked it out after the event.
All I can say is that if it were not for this lovely receptionist recognising that I had a bigger problem than first thought, I may not be here.
Sometimes you do find a little Gem

We always said that we could never live anywhere else because our Health Centre was so wonderful, but it recently combined with another one that shared the site and problems have begun to creep in.
We used to be able to get a same day appointment, just by ringing at 8am but now they operate a triage system, which means that when you ring up, you are given a series of options. The first one is that you should call 999 if you have a life-threatening illness - well, how do you know, if you haven't seen a doctor???
I recently wanted to have a double appointment with one of the GPs (who are very good, on the whole) as I had a few things I needed to talk over and I didn't want to rush. I booked 3 weeks in advance. I even rang nearer the time to check that I definitely did have a double appointment and it was confirmed, but - you've guessed it- when I arrived, it was only a single one, so I couldn't discuss all the things I needed to. The GP was very cross with the receptionist!
I have a heart condition and need regular blood tests and recently, I had one booked for the day after we returned from a holiday abroad. These are for Warfarin and have to be on a certain date or the day before or after. I duly arrived and checked in on the automatic gadget, which confirmed my appointment. I waited for 30 minutes and was puzzled that there was nobody else in the waiting room. Usually blood tests are very quick. I went to the receptionist and asked why it was taking so long. She said"Oh, we cancelled it and sent you a text" While we were away I received two texts confirming the appointment, but none cancelling it. I asked to have it the next day and she said they were fully booked. She obviously didn't realise the importance of getting it done on the right day. I had to make a fuss before she miraculously made me an appointment for the next day. I went to complain to the practice manager about that one - something I have never had to do before. Apparently all the staff had gone to the funeral of someone who used to work there.
I could go on ........

An NHS GP has about 1600 patients on his list. Most of them do 15 10minutes appointments 9-11.30 then have 30 minutes to go through lab results and dictating referrals. About 45 minutes lunch and then on to home visits. Back at two. Half an hour for yes, prescriptions, usually a stack about 5cm high and going through inbound correspondence. Then another 2,5 hours of 15 ten minutes appointments.
They are not allowed to not take new patients when their list is full. They do have to attend staff meetings, CQC meetings, appraisal meetings, continuous professional development (mandatory 50 hours/year), occasionally take some time off. Locum doctors see patients and most of them sign prescriptions. Bloods and correspondence are redistributed to other doctors. They would hire more doctors for the practice if they could, but a new doctor would need a room to sit in and NHS England has not approved any increase in premises in years + there are no doctors to hire in GP practices. Most of them have to look one year or more for a new partner. Not because they are picky, but because there are no applicants. Anybody who decides to make a 50-75K investment in general practice (usual price to buy into a practice) under current circumstances is probably not thinking straight anyway.
So yeah: it's 2 working days for a prescription and two weeks wait for a non urgent appointment. And you have to tell the receptionist what it is regarding because she has strict guidelines on how to triage patients. And then you have to tell the doctor because the receptionist has just triaged you, possibly put a one or two words description and that's it. And if you do get an appointment it's a ten minutes appointment. The only thing that it's worse than the 'now that I'm here' speech is the 'I don't come very often so I have a few things to discuss'.
I did use to work in the NHS. I still do half a day/week. It's all my sanity would allow...

OH did it full time for nearly 40 years + teaching, preparing and marking, mentoring and industrial appointments, 1 night in 3 or 4 on top, and one week-end 3 or 4 on top too. He loved it. it nearly killed him.

He would HATE it NOW.

There are several receptionists at my doctors one in particular messes up prescription frequently they aren't ready or the latest excuse they are at the other practice 5miles away and there are never any appointments unless you ring a week in advance when I was a student I worked as a doctor's receptionist in the holidays and on my first day was told that I was the the wall between the doctor and the patient it's your job to see that the doctor isn't pestered by patients!!

Once again I will say my surgery is wonderful, every single one of them! That is not to say I don't accept others have issues but sometimes a subject calls for all views.

The practice is run efficiently with a friendly, polite atmosphere and we get excellent service. We can book our appointments and repeat prescriptions on line or ring the surgery after 8.30 and one of three receptionists politely make an appointment , never asks why you want to see a doctor! You can usually get an appointment within a couple of days but if you ' stipulate ' you will only see a specific doctor then it may take a couple of weeks, that is a personal choice and don't blame the surgery if you have refused to see another doctor .

As for Tramadol unless it is in a dosette box then you now have to ' sign ' for it on collection. Tramadol became a Schedule 3 Controlled Drug last year and my belief is ' technically' your GP can only prescribe Tramadol on a month by month basis. There is a catch 22 with this issue. On one hand I have been taking Tramadol for over a decade , I started on 8 a day and have reduced my intake to 2/4 daily alongside Meloixicam, some days I take no Tramadol. I have to order month by month, no longer 3 months at a time. A nuisance, yes, do I understand the reason why of course I do and I respect the reason behind making Tramadol a controlled drug and the reason outweighs the nuisance of ordering a prescription monthly.

Ruby, that is in no way directed toward you , I know how difficult these past couple of weeks have been and obviously you are battling with Ill health as I noted you have just received good news with regard to your PIP payment and are looking forward to getting a mobility car.

Sorry I haven't read more than the first page.

I want to say how absolutely wonderful our Receptionists are, I couldn't ask for more. In nearly 7 years we have had 2 minor incidents when things might have been handled better but a little assertiveness sorted it out. If I were to ask for an urgent appointment I know I would get one. I only usually need the routing sort so as soon as I call I tell them it is not urgent and they seem please that I am not being pushy.

This week they had finally got the self service check in system up and running so there was no reason to speak to them. Before leaving I just went to say Hi and ask if they felt unloved and we had a bit of a giggle about it. They said I was one of their 'nice' patients so I wonder what sort of difficult people they sometimes have to deal with.

No problems with prescriptions, all done through the pharmacist and if anything does go wrong he is always happy to give us a few pills in advance to tide us over. I think having a good relationship with a private pharmacist is a very good idea.

We are very lucky to have good GP's and receptionists . If you phone for an emergency appointment you can generally be seen the same day as long as you accept it won't be a particular GP as they take it in turns to do an Urgent clinic . They also have a "walk-in" every day run by an excellent nurse practitioner. This was set up as the local hospital "walk-in" was just the pits .
Receptionists are usually helpful - my OH would drive a saint mad !
It's our local hospital that is the problem . My SiL has a serious long term condition that requires her to have two weekly hospital visits . The other day she visited her GP as she thought she was developing an infection ( she is on medication that reduces her immunity)and she didn't want to bother the hospital consultant . The GP had received no information from the hospital for over 6 weeks and hadn't a clue what was going on . He then sent her to A+E as he felt unable to treat her ! Surely with frequent attenders to hospital it would be better to give the patient a letter at the time of their appointment . ( Moorfields does this when I attend) Sorry gone off the subject a bit but it really annoys me how there is no continuity.

The receptionists are a nightmare. We have wonderful Dr's but the receptionist at our practice are getting worse, especially since the older one's are now retiring. A few years ago I had a nightmare of a complex story like yours re my son who is bipolar, who still lives at home.

All day I had been trying to speak to our Dr and I was getting the run around from the receptionists (our Dr' do call backs when it's applicable) After spending all day at this, I had finally had enough. I typed up a letter for our Dr and walked over the surgery sat down and announced I wanted to see our Dr and I wasn't leaving until I had.

They were like we will get the practice manager down. I said get who you want down (biting my tongue so I didn't say ''get the police for all I care'') Anyway they finally sent a gentle person over from the back of offices, who asked me what was the matter. I explained. She said she would ensure the Dr got the letter. She seen the look on my face and took the letter through with me still there. Once I knew he had it ''I burst into tears'' That was all I wanted. I knew once our Dr had the note it would be dealt with. It was.

I am not sure at times whether the receptionist are just plain chaotic or Gestapo though I do think it could be both. Just one of my incidences. Thank you for sharing. I am glad I am not alone with this with receptionists

Most receptionists do the work because they need a job. They run the surgery appointment system the way the Practice manager and Doctors want them to.

They are monitored for the number of calls they handle in an hour. They are monitored as to why they gave an appointment to a patient. They are asked to account for every action they have taken. The days of having time to talk to a patient are long gone.

Receptionists are often shouted at, sworn at, and in many cases threatened with personal injury. On occasions they are told that someone will be waiting to kill them when they leave the surgery. I am no longer a receptionist but was once threatened with a knife with a five inch blade by a patient who was told that the doctor would not sign his prescription until later. Patients have leant over the counter and grabbed a receptionist by the neck and threatened to bash her brains out against the desk if she didn't do what he asked. You think this does not happen. I can assure you it does. Sometimes there is another side to the story.

Having been a receptionist for 20 years I can reveal shock horror that 9 times out of 10 we are acting on GP instructions. The GP will not face patients or say no to them but hide in their room whlis the receptionist deals with the matter on their behalf. Okay admin errors can occur but we cannot refuse a patient only the GP can do this, they also pretend to be out on housecalls so that they do not have to deal with difficult patients but are in the coffee lounge where they can sit and chat for up to 90mins while the admin staff carry on working. Our wages are a fraction of the GP's yet we cop all the flack . Tramadol is a controlled drug hence it cannot be phoned into a pharmacy. Please dont blame the receptionist for everything you as a patient may fail to realise that you are one of many and not the centre of the GP's universe!

re Craftins message every word you have said is true well done you must work in the same type of Surgery as me!

Yup. I think all receptionists do. It's not all the GPs fault either. The pressure that the government put on the NHS ends up putting so much pressure on the GPS that they have no choice to run the surgery as a "business".

Crafting

I think your post is the first I have noticed that brings the government into the thread.

Having presumably read posts that say they have excellent doctors and practices, how do you suppose some manage and others don't if it is all down to the government.

I've just phoned the hospital to cancel an appointment with my cardiologist for tomorrow. I was leaving it til today so that I could see how the antibiotics were working out but I really am not well enough to go. I can't remember the last time I cancelled a hospital appointment, if ever. The appointments lady was very offhand and was curt in saying that the next appointment was September. Well, I'm not well enough to come, so it will have to do. What did she expect me to do, find a magic cure down the side of the settee, hold on, I'm sure I've put one down somewhere.

Our once very efficient surgery is going to pot. The drop in centre in the village (there was often a two hour wait but at least you were seen) has been abandoned in favour of an appointment's only system with a two and a half week waiting period.

A month ago DH had an appointment cancelled at the last moment because the nurse had gone home sick. This was done over the phone so he was upset and angry to receive a DNA letter a week later!!

He then had an appointment made for last week for his routine B12 jab. I couldn't see the appointment on the patient log-in system and as usual the receptionist wasn't answering the phone so I made sure he took the appointment card with him as proof. There was a big sign on the door saying that no nurse or doctor would be on duty that day.

I've managed to get him an appointment for this Thursday which I'm praying will go ahead because he's as grumpy as hell when his B12 is overdue.

Fingers crossed.

It is the same all over the country so something is going wrong somewhere. My friend in Linc's had an appt for a smear as she was having gynae problems. When she went the receptionist said she didn't have an appt and my friend said oh yes I did. No you don't the nurse isn't here today. At this point her H who is not a patient man got involved as he had been there when the appt was made.she was given an appt for two weeks hence. They went home and G rang the practice manager,she was given an appt in 2 days.
When she went the nurse said I am sorry I couldn't see you on Tues my little boy broke his arm at school and
I had to cancel everything to take him to hospital!
I assume the receptionist hadn't cancelled and lied to cover her mistake. They reported this but I don't know what happened after that. My friends left the practice.

It certainly isn't all over the country.
Our local Medical centre is very efficient. The receptionists are cheerful and polite and will help all they can. ,
It can be difficult to get through on the phone at busy times, but you get through eventually.
Whilst non-urgent Dr's appointments with a specific Dr. may not be available at short notice, if the problem is urgent, you will be seen quickly.
I went with kidney pain a couple of weeks ago, the receptionist ask me to wait a moment while she spoke to a Dr., the Dr saw me within 10 min.

I would be hard pressed to know what could be improved, apart from having Dr's waiting for patients to walk through the door.

Again, our local hospital gets a lot of grief, but my experience has always been excellent.
I had to wait 3 weeks to see a consultant from the day I saw my GP, I received the appointment the very next day for a CT scan in 10 days time. I would not have done better had I gone private.

I had my repeats set up to go electronically every month to the pharmacy but didn't realise they had to be reordered from the doctor every 6 months. So I went to the pharmacy to collect prescription 7 only too be told I'd had the last one! By then I was about to run out of one drug so emergency dash to surgery who provided a batch of six months of prescriptions as paper copies as they said it was the only way to do it at short notice. The receptionist seemed very put out to have to do it at all. Then I had to go back to collect from the pharmacy. Yesterday when going to collect my next one in good time before running out in about 5 days time I was told I couldn't collect until 3 days time as that is when the prescription is dated! So much for me being organised - the dates are really close to the running out date now which is a real pain and when I next go on holiday just before the prescription is due I won't be able to get it early so will run out while away so that is another thing to organise!

My pharmacist tells me when I am due for a review, it is shown on the prescription. I can also see the details on my on-line med records.

jocork if the patient doesn't have a review with the GP then a lot of drugs would be prescribed unnecessarily, costing the NHS a fortune.
I think the GP surgeries are trying to crack down on this wastage.