Waiting, waiting, waiting

is it any wonder so much money is wasted on patients not turning up for appointments? Surely it would make financial sense to have more clerical people answering calls, thus saving medical staff from the wasted budget? And would save us all from screaming until our blood pressure goes through the roof

I feel your frustration!

Pa-thet-ic

more clerical people answering calls

I'll second that. I've lost count of the number of times I've heard answering machines say 'we are currently experiencing a high volume of calls' - that only works if you say it once or twice, say it every time and it becomes a bit suspicious that you are not employing enough people!

Then again, getting a person can be worse than a machine. I rang my GP surgery today to ask about a medication I have been put on that hasn't appeared on my repeat prescription. I was spoken to in a way that I did not appreciate. At my appointment next week with the GP, I shall be letting him know that I will not tolerate being spoken to like I'm a naughty child and neither will I tolerate that patronising tone a second time. Do they think we all have medical qualifications and, therefore, should know these things but are ringing up just for the heck of it and to annoy the clerical workers

I just got off the phone to EE to get my pac code for a new phone and went through a similar rigmarole!! the stupid woman was supposed to transfer me to the team dealing with pac codes and instead cut me off... so I had to go through the whole rigmarole again. MAD! MAD!MAD!

They then text me the number I needed.. but it is very frustrating.

Have you noticed that if you ring a company you are a client of with a query you have a long wait before you speak to a person, but if you ring their sales department someone answers straightaway!

Hollyd
It makes no difference if you do have a medical degree!
Once you're no longer a whizz kid who learnt everything there is to know about medicine in a shortened programme, you're a doddery oap who knows absolutely zilch!

I'm sure your overworked GP will really appreciate that, Hollydaze.
Why don't you complain in the usual way by speaking or writing to the practice manager - it's their job, not the GP's, to handle complaints of an administrative nature.

I spent ages trying to get through to relevant HMRC dept - when I did I said it had taken a long time to get through and she said "It was only 35 minutes!" - well hooray!

Our local hospital offers an email service for appointments. I was dubious but tried it and so far it has worked well and quickly every time. Almost as if they have someone sitting at a computer waiting! So much easier than those stupid phone messages

I had so many menu options the other day (also phoning a hospital), that I wasn't exactly sure (despite fierce concentration) so I waited for the next option, that I then forgot what number I ^ should^ have pressed. Didn't get through anyway, so in the end I scrawled a letter to them and popped it in the post - with "PS had no luck reaching you by phone".

So very true Galen - most of the clerical staff are quite helpful and pleasant but there are one or two that are so patronising.

janeainsworth

^I'm sure your overworked GP will really appreciate that, Hollydaze.
Why don't you complain in the usual way by speaking or writing to the practice manager - it's their job, not the GP's, to handle complaints of an administrative nature.^

How do you know he's overworked? How do you know he would have objections? How would you know what is the usual way that complaints are dealt with in our local GP surgery?

It isn't about an administrative procedure, it's about poor attitude.

For the record - we have been told to discuss matters such as the one I have described, with the GP.

It might have been better had you asked rather than assumed you knew what goes on in our surgery and what procedure patients have, or have not, been asked to follow. To not do that, and make the post that you did, makes it look, almost, like you were being a bit sarcastic ...

Holly
Ouch!

HollyDaze; if someone at a surgery speaks to a patient in a rude patronising tone yes, they should be reported. I was fed up of of seeing this happen [we all knew which staff they were] and it was unfair on those of us talking to patients in a pleasant, respectful way. At the same time, make a point of praising those staff who do their job well.

Tegan

This all came about due to one receptionist in particular many, many years ago (she has, thankfully, retired). I won't go into details about her antics but some of them left patients very red faced regarding specimens they'd taken in. If patients rang (or went up to) the surgery asking for an emergency appointment, she would insist on being told the nature of the visit before she would decide whether or not you needed an emergency appointment. She was very rude and no amount of speaking to the practice manager made a jot of difference. Eventually, several patients (including me) reported her to Health Services which did not please the GPs because, as said to me, it reflected badly on them. Therefore, if a situation persists, we have been asked to broach the subject with our own GP to see if he/she can resolve it.

I will say that most of the clerical staff are very pleasant and very helpful - but, as with any human gathering, there are always bad apples that let the rest down.

Our local practice insisted that the BMA did not allow online appointments or repeat prescriptions by phone. They prefer you to drive to the surgery and queue up to wait for someone to break off their tea and biscuits and notice you. I contacted the BMA . This is not true and simply too much work for the practice manager. I informed the GP and we are now on line. They still have a rubbish phone system for same day appointments but I intend to crack that this autumn.

Hi Holly, up until I retired I worked at our local Medical Centre as a medical secretary . I tried very hard to dispel the opinion of the general public towards GP receptionists, a lot were justified almost as if they were trying to 'protect' their doctor. Hopefully I was friendly and helpful. Our surgery then instigated a new way of answering the appointments phone, most of us were unhappy with it. We were instructed to say ' are you able to tell me the reason for your appointment'. There is a very good reason for this. Some appointments could be made with a nurse instead of the doctor, for example having your blood pressure taken, asthma checks and dietary needs. If the nurse feels that the patient needs to see a doctor she will then make an appointment. If the caller refused to give a reason that was fine too. Let me give you an example of a patient wasting a GP appointment. An elderly couple insisted on a double appointment in order for them both to see their doctor [ a favourite doctor for most of the patients] When they went into the doctor they took out some curtain swatches and colour cards - they wanted the doctor to help them choose some colours for their new sitting room. True Story.

Im sure you are right, poor old folk did not have anyone else to speak to.

How sad, Ive read many times recently that lonely elders just go to the Dr for someone to speak to.

Sad how society has gone.

Stansgran

I wish our surgery would have an online appointment system. They have, however, dragged themselves into the age of the computer ( ) and we can now email for repeat prescriptions (I didn't even know they had a website!) and they also have a FB page - which I find puzzling for some reason. I was told I wasn't up to speed on what is happening as I clearly haven't been reading their FB page - I told them that I'm not on FB and I don't want to be on FB but apparently, I have to be if I want to be kept informed They have acknowledged that out of all patients recently contacted to give feedback on the procedures at the surgery, most of the complaints were about not being able to get through on the telephone for appointments - so why on earth don't they have online booking?

dorsetpennt - the last bit of your post did make me smile because I can imagine that happening! It's the kind of thing I can imagine happening here

Whilst I can understand patients may not mind telling a receptionist over the telephone why they need an urgent appointment, it's another thing to ask them to vocalise their condition with a waiting room, often full of people, that can hear every word. Thankfully, she has been long gone. Our reception staff will, if there is a shortage of appointments for a given day, ask 'can one of the practice nurses help you' or 'would it help if Dr XYZ rang you later today' which I think is a very nice and tactful way of dealing with things.

I have tried ordering repeat prescriptions from the designated e-mail address of my GP twice, both times it had been ignored. I have reverted back to putting my request in the box at reception.
When it comes to items not being on repeat my insulin is but the needles aren't I couldn't sell them for use by an addict as they only fit my pen. So why can't they be on repeat?