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Doctor's receptionists!

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  • juno
    juno Posts: 6,553 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    I wrote this on the old board, but that was a while ago and it's funny so I thought I;d write it again. This is a true conversation with my doctor's receptionist.

    Me: Hi, can I have an appointment to see Dr Thompson after 3 please?
    Her: We've got one at 10am
    Me: Do you have anything a bit later?
    Her: After that we don't have anything until 3pm
    Me: Could I have that one please?
    Her: That's at 10am then
    Murphy's No More Pies Club #209

    Total debt [STRIKE]£4578.27[/STRIKE] £0.00 :j
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  • JayS_3
    JayS_3 Posts: 318 Forumite
    Absolutely refuse to tell the Receptionist anything, site 'confidentiality', she would be breeching rules and regs if she insisted you tell her anything over the phone.

    Or, if you know any medical terminology, scatter that is amongst the symptoms, frightens them off !!!

    Failing that, if you think she will tell you to take a paracetamol etc, tell her you have something more dramatic wrong with you to get the appointment(but be sure your true symptoms merit an appointment with the doctor in the first place).
    The only stupid question, is an unasked question ...
  • juno wrote:
    I wrote this on the old board, but that was a while ago and it's funny so I thought I;d write it again. This is a true conversation with my doctor's receptionist.

    Me: Hi, can I have an appointment to see Dr Thompson after 3 please?
    Her: We've got one at 10am
    Me: Do you have anything a bit later?
    Her: After that we don't have anything until 3pm
    Me: Could I have that one please?
    Her: That's at 10am then

    :D rofl. I'd have turned up at 12.

    I had a dragon of a receptionist at one GP's surgery.

    Once, when my husband rang up for a repeat prescription for me, she told him that they'd (her included), had just had a 'case study' about me.

    We didn't think she had any qualifications to be able to sit in on such a delicate situation, or whether she should have discussed the fact, so my other half jumped in the car to go and see the doctor.

    He's very rarely rude to anyone, and very very very rarely to a woman, but I think he lost his temper that day, and she apologised reluctantly, as did the doctor.

    Not long after we found a new doctor.

    With a more professional receptionist.

    There's good and bad everywhere I suppose.
  • Poppy9
    Poppy9 Posts: 18,833 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Sofa sogood

    You must be so important to warrant a case conference :D:D:D
    :) ~Laugh and the world laughs with you, weep and you weep alone.~:)
  • Poppy9 wrote:
    Sofa sogood

    You must be so important to warrant a case conference :D

    It took me years to get that reputation Poppy :rolleyes:

    Don't knock it :D

    But to get back on topic, she had a little office type place from where she made her calls, and where people queued up for an appointment, (it was in the days of 'first come, first served - blimey, that takes me back), so all the queue for that day knew it was me!

    Ho hum ..

    I'm with a better class of doctor now, bigger office :D

    But seriously, it's scary reading louise's story.
  • Queenie
    Queenie Posts: 8,793 Forumite
    Do make a complaint.

    Even with some medical training (as SammyPops claims they have) in this particular instance, she failed to recognise the seriousness of the situation!
    Therefore, you will be highlighting a "training need" for the receptionist (as I said: IF she has some medical training!)

    However, you are not to know if she has med. training or not!

    I have had a similar experience; it became evident to me that I wasn't getting anywhere. The receptionist was advising Calpol™ for my son's condition :rolleyes: I then asked the receptionist if she was refusing to have my young child seen by a GP that day? (she repeated her speil) Ok, then I shall call out the On-Call Dr or visit A&E and explain that you are refusing to allow my child medical treatment!

    I was speedily called back by the Practice Manager and was asked to bring him in ;)

    Many years ago my Doctor told me this: "A GP is only as good as the Receptionist. If *they* fail the patient, *we* gain the bad rep!"
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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  • nearlyrich
    nearlyrich Posts: 13,698 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Combo Breaker Hung up my suit!
    After years of frustration with my doctors receptionists, the latest lunacy being having to ring up at the start of the surgery session to get an appointment, great when I work all over the place and could be 3 hours away, they have recently introduced an online appointments system so I can book a convenient appointment with the doctor I choose upto 3 weeks before. I love it.
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  • Savvy_Sue
    Savvy_Sue Posts: 47,310 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    nearlyrich wrote:
    After years of frustration with my doctors receptionists, the latest lunacy being having to ring up at the start of the surgery session to get an appointment, great when I work all over the place and could be 3 hours away, they have recently introduced an online appointments system so I can book a convenient appointment with the doctor I choose upto 3 weeks before. I love it.
    Oh PLEASE when can we have that system? We also have the lunacy of having to ring at 8.30 am to get an appointment, and although you are supposed to get one that day it is nigh on impossible to get one at a time to suit the patient or with the GP you actually want to see, so continuity of care has gone completely down the tubes.

    OK if it is an emergency it is good to know you should be able to see someone the same day, but plenty of us have non-emergency problems for which we need routine appointments, so being able to make appointments in advance and with the right GP is pretty essential. And although OFFICIALLY we are supposed to be able to make appointments TWO DAYS ahead for non-emergencies, just try asking the receptionist for one of those! They do not like it, and tell you to phone on the day, and they do not like the fact that some of us KNOW we are supposed to be able to make them in advance.

    That rant over. Years ago we used to have a terrifying receptionist, but as I grew up I realised one day that actually she didn't mean to sound fierce, it was just the way she spoke. It was the day when she asked me how my brother was doing - she did at least know all the patients and my brother had been taken ill away from home - in exactly the same voice as she always used for "Is it an emergency? Do you have to see the doctor today?"
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  • Glad
    Glad Posts: 18,927 Senior Ambassador
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Mortgage-free Glee! Name Dropper
    we have to ring at 8.30 too for an appt that day, it usually takes me until 8.45 to get through and then be told that 1st appt is at 12, their is more than one manning the phones though and by the time I've said 'oh is that the earliest? and it will have to do' she is answering 'sorry too late that one's gone now...........'

    they are really nice at our surgery though and I've found them very helpful in suggesting which GP would be best depending on what the prob is,

    I think that if you don't want them to know your probs then don't tell them, but if it's something you don't mind sharing then let them know as it may make a difference to scheduling and so to someone else.

    Due to patient confidentiality though they shouldn't be letting other patients know your business, if you think that is happening the a word with the Practice Manager should stop it, some receptionists may not be aware of how far their voice is carrying,

    the OP should however complain about his treatment, complaining is not just getting someone in trouble, it is a means to prevent it happining again
    I am a Senior Forum Ambassador and I support the Forum Team on the Wales, Small Biz MoneySaving, In My Home (includes DIY) MoneySaving, and Old style MoneySaving boards. Please note that Ambassadors are not moderators. Any posts you spot in breach of the Forum Rules should be reported via the report button, or by emailing forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com.All views are my own and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.
  • filigree_2
    filigree_2 Posts: 1,025 Forumite
    I reckon this thread could extend to a dozen pages because I don't know anyone who hasn't had at least one bad experience with a receptionist.

    I've had one who told me that if I was well enough to walk into the room unaided it wasn't an emergency, and if I wanted an appointment in less than two weeks I'd have to go to Casualty.

    My current practice lost my records because of a mix up with a patient with the same name. Now every time I call them I make them take my date of birth to double check. They refused to let me see a doctor and said I couldn't re-register since the list was full - I'd just had surgery and I've got a chronic illness.

    The baby clinic changed the system all the time - file in the basket, file in the box, hand file to Health Visitor - you name it. They invariably treated you like a moron for not clairvoyantly knowing what to do. I solved the problem by marching up to the desk every time and asking "baby clinic please - what system are we using this week?"

    I've had receptionists assert vigorously that I don't know my own address, I don't know my child's name and that I must have amnesia or alzheimers because they got my details wrong - god forbid they should ever admit that I'm right.

    I'm hard of hearing and they never, ever, make any effort to catch my attention when my name is called, despite me trying to explain to them. I can cope so long as I sit near the reception desk and keep alert, gawd knows how the truly deaf are treated.

    On the plus side, one of the receptionists is fantastic, knows my son by name and when he was severely ill she would always bump him right to the top of the list. My GP is the best I've ever had, he really went the extra distance when my son was ill, and even now he asks after him when he sees me. Sometimes we get great service and it's worth telling them so, I reckon if you praise them for good service they'll keep it up.
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