VENT-Doctors Receptionists

mightyroyals

Just a little vent really i suffer from health anxiety and proberbly goto the doctors about twice a month maybe three times on a bad month. Anyways i called my Doctors surgery up to get an appointment today and after waiting on hold for 10 mins or so i get through to a receptionist where i give my name and the response i get is a "Sigh" with "Oh God" almost to say here we go again another appointment, This really annoys me as she does not know me or my situation. This time i really needed to see a Doc as i have had severe stomach pain for 2 weeks and had been holding back going but now i have cancelled my appointment as i don't want to go to a surgery that is being like that. Sorry just a vent really at the rudeness of Doctors surgery.

duchy

It's a bit stupid to cancel a needed appointment -although I suppose some might argue that if you *really* needed it you wouldn't have felt able to cancel. That said no-one in a customer facing position should talk to a client or customer like that. Did you pull them up on it ? In that situation I would have said to her "I beg your pardon" in a slightly outraged/offended tone. It usually sorts em out !
You could complain to the practice manager ......or alternatively find a new doctor.

poet123

mightyroyals wrote: »

Just a little vent really i suffer from health anxiety and proberbly goto the doctors about twice a month maybe three times on a bad month. Anyways i called my Doctors surgery up to get an appointment today and after waiting on hold for 10 mins or so i get through to a receptionist where i give my name and the response i get is a "Sigh" with "Oh God" almost to say here we go again another appointment, This really annoys me as she does not know me or my situation. This time i really needed to see a Doc as i have had severe stomach pain for 2 weeks and had been holding back going but now i have cancelled my appointment as i don't want to go to a surgery that is being like that. Sorry just a vent really at the rudeness of Doctors surgery.

That suggests that there have been times when you have gone but not really needed to go? Would that be fair?

I have a friend who is a Dr's Receptionist and she says that on any given day 50% of appointments are for really trivial things which would have gone away on their own or with an OTT medicine from the Chemist. This means that they turn away those who may really need to see a doctor because there are no spots available.

I appreciate that you felt hurt by the way your call was handled but they are only human and sometimes make mistakes. If this time you do need to see a doctor then you should make another appointment, but perhaps discuss with him also that you have this need for reassurance about your health which is causing you problems.

mcjordi

i would complain.. write a letter into the surgery manager.

fluffnutter

poet123 wrote: »

I have a friend who is a Dr's Receptionist and she says that on any given day 50% of appointments are for really trivial things which would have gone away on their own or with an OTT medicine from the Chemist. This means that they turn away those who may really need to see a doctor because there are no spots available.

That's not for her to decide! That's what gets people's backs up about receptionists. They're there to man the reception - not make judgements about who does and doesn't need to see a doctor.

OP, if this is a one-off, then try to put it behind you. If it happens regularly, complain to the practice manager. Good luck with tackling your anxiety - it's a terrible thing. Have you tried CBT?

mightyroyals

duchy wrote: »

It's a bit stupid to cancel a needed appointment -although I suppose some might argue that if you *really* needed it you wouldn't have felt able to cancel. That said no-one in a customer facing position should talk to a client or customer like that. Did you pull them up on it ? In that situation I would have said to her "I beg your pardon" in a slightly outraged/offended tone. It usually sorts em out !
You could complain to the practice manager ......or alternatively find a new doctor.

I did not get a chance to pull them up as they said that then said the time and hung up, I only cancelled as i will look for a new doctors surgery and try to find a way t a walk in center today.

mightyroyals

poet123 wrote: »

That suggests that there have been times when you have gone but not really needed to go? Would that be fair?

I have a friend who is a Dr's Receptionist and she says that on any given day 50% of appointments are for really trivial things which would have gone away on their own or with an OTT medicine from the Chemist. This means that they turn away those who may really need to see a doctor because there are no spots available.

I appreciate that you felt hurt by the way your call was handled but they are only human and sometimes make mistakes. If this time you do need to see a doctor then you should make another appointment, but perhaps discuss with him also that you have this need for reassurance about your health which is causing you problems.

I did mention in my original post i do suffer from health anxiety and my gp has been superb he said to me if i ever need to go get an appointment don't leave it to bottle up so my gp is very supportive and i have been having cbt to help but it is not an instant cure.

poet123

fluffnutter wrote: »

That's not for her to decide! That's what gets people's backs up about receptionists. They're there to man the reception - not make judgements about who does and doesn't need to see a doctor.

OP, if this is a one-off, then try to put it behind you. If it happens regularly, complain to the practice manager. Good luck with tackling your anxiety - it's a terrible thing. Have you tried CBT?

And of course she doesn't get to decide, appointments are given to whomever if they are available, she does however, get to have an opinion.;) There are those who are apparently in the surgery for such ailments 2/3 times a week.

mightyroyals

fluffnutter wrote: »

That's not for her to decide! That's what gets people's backs up about receptionists. They're there to man the reception - not make judgements about who does and doesn't need to see a doctor.

OP, if this is a one-off, then try to put it behind you. If it happens regularly, complain to the practice manager. Good luck with tackling your anxiety - it's a terrible thing. Have you tried CBT?

Yes i have been having cbt and it has improved me and i now only go if i really need to go to the doctors.
Cbt is a long and hard process but it is worth the work to get rid of this anxiety and the waste of time sitting in doctors surgeries lol

fluffnutter

poet123 wrote: »

And of course she doesn't get to decide, appointments are given to whomever if they are available, she does however, get to have an opinion.;) There are those who are apparently in the surgery for such ailments 2/3 times a week.

I expect there are. It's no secret that many appointments simply aren't necessary. But people go to the doctors for all sorts of reasons - because they're sad, they're lonely, they're frightened, they have mental health issues. I don't doubt receptionists get weary of seeing the same old faces, but it's upsetting enough visiting the doctor without having to suffer the sighs and tuts of the receptionist who can barely conceal the fact that she thinks you're a time-waster.

This isn't aimed at your friend, poet. But this kind of attitude is pervasive and leads to the kind of treatment that the OP has encountered. Whether or not he or she should be there is something the receptionist needs to try not to have an opinion on.

bluekp

poet123 wrote: »

That suggests that there have been times when you have gone but not really needed to go? Would that be fair?

I'm sure you are right that there have been times when the op has had appointments where in reality there probably was "nothing" wrong. Unfortunately with health anxiety the illness is not a physical one, thus the op would need to go to the GP for the reassurance they need in order to move on.

I suffered from health anxiety for years too, and I asked for help and went for stress control classes (these didn't work for me), then for one-on-one counselling. This appears to have worked, but I still have the occasional wobble so can understand how the op feels.

I personally would be furious if I received that response from a receptionist - health anxiety IS a health issue.