Bloody doctor's receptionists.

I had an appointment with my GP and he asked me to find out some information and phone him back later in the day. Well, when i got through to the receptionist she said "the doctors are too busy to take phone calls". I told her he had asked me to phone. She was very sniffy and reluctantly put me through. They tell you in their information pack that doctors can take phone calls between 11am and noon. Just don't try to actually use that service!

My practice mixed my notes with those of another patient with a similar name and I was given bad news. I "sat on" it for five days before the GP rang to apologise. Later I found there was still a mix up and went through my notes on the computer with the practice manager and found I had been allotted a husband. I am a widow. The practice manager seemed to find it amusing. I requested all my notes (hospital etc) from the local health authority and they arrived addressed to the other patient. It has quietened down now and I can only think that the other patient is deceased. I've just felt my pulse and I am still warm and breathing.

I now have my repeat prescription sent through to Tesco's pharmacy and they are great and will ring the doctor themselves if any problems. Before this was set up, I called at the surgery to pick one up that I had ordered by phone and was told loudly and rudely that I couldn't have it as I needed to have it reviewed with the doctor. The receptionist told me that it had been written on the last box - it hadn't as I checked when I got home. I'm not usually a complainer but when I did get to see a doctor I said I really objected to being spoken to like a naughty child. The response was that they did have some dragons on reception and he could only apologise. Haven't seen her there recently!

Sadly this appears to be the 'norm' nowadays, I recently changed doctors hoping for a better service but alas that hasn't happened. Notices state that prescriptions take 2/3 days but you are advised to check up as the system usually goes wrong ie the presciption can't be found, no doctor is available etc - basically the computer says Nah!!!

That is terrible coolgran, I am sure that half the time, these recepitionist 's like that little bit of power, "The recepitionist say's noo" It took me, from December.2015 until March, 2016 to get an appointment for a routine blood test, and when I finally got one, was then told off, by the Practise Nurse! Gone are the days when, if you felt ill you could ring for an appointment, ,now you have to make it weeks in advance!!

My husband rang our practice with a very reasonable question regarding the potential need for two separate blood tests. The receptionist did not let him finish one sentence - I was in the room with him - and consequently after about five minutes of cutting him short and butting in she still had no idea of what he wanted and then started saying 'I am not a nurse' and 'I've got four phones to answer here'. Had she let him explain that particular call might have been finished some time earlier. We are generally made to feel that patients are rather a nuisance by the reception staff, although fortunately the GPs are very good and we rarely need to visit - thank goodness!

Also, the receptionist DOES NOT have any need, or right, to know why you want to see the doctor. She is an administrator, not a medically trained person, and patient confidentiality requires you to tell only your GP.

I think I must be really lucky. I've been with my surgery for 2 years and have never had any problems. I usually book my appointments and request repeat prescriptions online which is incredibly easy. It is only a small practice but they do early appointments from 6.30 am on 2 days each week, one late evening and Saturday morning. There was one receptionist who was a bit brusque but she's left and the others couldn't be more helpful. There is talk of a few local surgeries getting together into a large medical practice but I hope this doesn't happen because it sounds as if that's when problems may start

Totally agree zephrine! Was an A&E receptionist for years so know a bit about it - damned if you do and damned if you don't. The patients attitude also makes a difference because they are only human and there is just so much they can take day in and day out.

Interesting riposte dorsetpennt. I think some of the points you make about Doctors setting the rules emphasise my thoughts about them trying to run it as a business.

Doctors by and large do not make the best managers, and perhaps nor should they, and with the arrival of "fund holding practices" it meant they were having to act as financial managers too. So learning the business of management whilst trying to be medics was not an obviously smooth approach perhaps.

The framework within which the practices operate has been set by politicians though - and we're all very confident in their capabilities I think.

I have read the posts on this thread with interest, irritation (at the attitudes some of you have experienced with doctors/receptionists), and I have had similar experiences.

We've had the one where - "you can get the practice to send over your prescription to the handy chain store pharmacy for you" suggestion too. But when they can't fulfil the script with the "we'll owe you some, and you can pick them up when our delivery comes" - tomorrow afternoon!! We - well, to be honest I decided that whilst still able I'll just take the script to any pharmacy who can do the job - fully.

Mind you, our practice has evolved into a business that now closes on random days during the week for "staff training" - not even a phone service on this occasions. Some good receptionists, some I would cross the street to avoid - although I do have some sympathy, they just seem to be learning all the time, about how to communicate in particular.

A recent fascinating development is that the practice has now assigned me a doctor I've never seen, and not the GP I registered with when we first moved here - I wonder if that's a new type of lottery.

I think overall GP practices - now they've become a business - you will always get that mixture of helpful staff, and those who are barely able to string a sentence together. Management too seems to be a variable, and I think that is something they are still learning.

Sorry for the length of the post - but sometimes I just despair at the way what was once a "Family Doctor" service, and they would know you has turned into a lottery - "next patient please" - who are you way of 'treating' people.

I will say that our GP surgery is very efficient and well run but yet people continue to complain. There is a letter in our local paper this week from a lady complaining that she couldn't get a GP appointment (with her own doctor sic) for 2 weeks. There are 16 other doctors and appointments available daily. As they are all qualified and experienced medical professionals that one can see under the NHS I couldn't see the problem. I don't often stick up for GPs - they don't need me to either I thought I would juts give credit where its due.

As a retired G.P. receptionist/Secretary let me tender a rebuttal to some of the remarks. The doctors make the rules, if they say it takes 48 hours to get a repeat prescription, it takes 48 hours. Anything written on your prescription was not placed there by a receptionist. If you are hoping to waltz in and get one right away, good luck. Much as we try to help, and we do, we have to get your doctor to sign it in the middle of a busy surgery. They don't like being interrupted. As a receptionist we have little or no clout. We aren't trying to 'protect' the doctor from you. There is a strict appointment system, we cannot slot you in without the doctor's say so. They don't like to be interrupted. There are difficult and uncooperative receptionists, but there are many more patients who feel a huge sense of entitlement as they 'pay their taxes' . So from a receptionist point of view , we do our best under really difficult situations.

As a specialist nurse I have many of the problems you are all discussing getting medication for my very ill patients. I have even been told that the electronic system for patients notes that we share with the GPS is not good enough for 1 practice - they want a fax as well?

No problem granjua - you are right it's a serious issue and needs to be dealt with.

Nanevon - posts crossed.

I'm surprised nobody picked up on my concern that a prescription for a morphine related vers strong painkiller, with dependence problems for some- just 'vanished'.
Somebody picked it up very probably- and probably not for the first time- so it should be investigated. Theft of prescriptions for strong painkillers, opiates, etc- is common place and needs to be dealt with.

My daughter is on slow release Tramadol as she has fibromyalgia. She takes two tablets a day and is issued with 60 tablets. As far as I am concerned that's enough for the month. However her online prescription always states that she cannot order again until two weeks after she has run out of tablets. I've had the same conversation with the prescription clerks at our surgery for two months and have now written a letter to the doctor asking them to change it so that she can order each month. Still nothing has been done!!! We don't want to change surgeries either as we have been with them for years. Don't know what the answer is really. And yes Tramadol is now on the "controlled drugs" list so prescriptions should certainly not go missing.

There are some genuine concerns here but please remember it is the doctor/practice manager who will have made the rules. If the receptionist sticks to them she gets it in the neck from the patient, if she breaks them she's in trouble with the boss. She does not make medical decisions she does what she has been told to do. Of course if you speak to the doc/pm they will be all sweetness and light, they don't want to be the bad guy. If you are taking medication on a regular basis it is best to set up a repeat scrip with a local pharmacy or online, this avoids all contact with the receptionist.

I always said there was a Royal College of Doctors' Receptionists for these dragons. In fact if they got up my nose too much I would inform them that I had worked for the RC of Physicians and that even the President didn't have their attitude.

The last practice I was with in England was wonderful and knew me well. When my mother went into a local care home she was registered with a different practice. Both the doctor and receptionist were truly dreadful, arrogant, wouldn't include me on things with my mother who had no memory and needed me with her. I asked my practice if they would take her and the receptionist said 'I know you want your mother to be where you know you are loved' - how good is that!

When I telephoned my mother's practice to say I was taking her away the snooty receptionist asked if it was because of the distance (about 3 miles), no I said it's because of your attitude. That sorted her and made me feel a whole lot better.

We have to phone to get a telephone appointment, telling the receptionist why we need one, the doctor then calls us back sometime during the morning, then the doctor decides if you need to see a doctor, (normally not the one on the telephone) or if they can diagnose whilst talking to you. You have to go through it all at least twice. If they decide to issue a prescription they send itover to the chemist sometime during the day.

This seems like a total waste of everyone's time and why does the receptionist need to know why you need to see the doctor.

I am sure sometimes things can get missed with this way of doing things

It's surprisingly easy to change doctors. I thought it would be a hassle with questions asked, but it's not.

I enquired around friends which surgeries had good doctors ( and reception staff ! ) and found one. It was just a matter of signing a form and having a phone consultation with the new GP.

I changed doctors because my own doctor of 24 years left to work at the local hospital. When I visited my new GP to discuss my high blood pressure he actually whistled at me and pointed to his lips impatiently when I started to write a few notes in a notebook. The end for me I'm afraid.

The new GP is great and 99% of the staff in reception are too.

This is always an interesting one, we are fortunate to have very good receptionists at our surgery, and I even know how to circumvent the system to get an appointment with my GP of choice the same day. I found myself with an expired inhaler on holiday, went into the local Boots pharmacy explained how I always got my prescriptions from their pharmacy locally and a couple of phone calls and proof of my identity later, I came away with the inhaler

Always insist on reporting things tot he practice manager. Also leave reviews on the appropriate site (can be done anonymously) because who is goi ng to monitor standards if the public can't be bothered?

I find it depends on who you get on the phone some are good and some very bad if you want to see a doctor that day then you have to phone before 8.30 but they have started a practise at my local hospital and if its urgent they will book you there, but on the whole mine arent so bad had a lot worse.

Can you not get your repeats get sent straight to the chemist ?
Mine re-orders mine for me ,the reason I do it this way is because I had ran out of tablets.
My chemist let me borrow some until I got my re-peat .


I had the same Dr from being 3 yrs old and he brought my son into the world ( he is 36 now)
When he retired evrything changed going from a friendly pratice it went to a money
making one.
You could not get to see a Dr at all.
My husband had not been to see a Dr in over 20yrs when he call he was told it would 10 days before he could get an appointment.

We looked for a new Dr's we found one not too far away .
They saw him that day ,we are very happy with the new pratice .
They still do house calls and all the staff are helpful.