GP receptionist

you are right to be enraged, if it was me id be livid. First thing when you get a chance make a phonecall and complain. Tell them that you have been looking after them for 24 years, changing their nappies, bringing them into school every day, providing for their every need. The least they can do now is look after their own appointments and not be worrying their family over their own GD medical appointments. Presumably they have phones in this other county where she lives? to the receptionist the phonecall is. Someone i know has a delicate matter and needs to see a doctor, could you book in a slot that might or might not suit this other persons schedule. Shes very worried abuot it, but not worried enough to do anything about it herself, or take a day off work to get it checked out. Let me know what times you might have available, il call her and then call you back to confirm which time might suit her.... ps. dont dare question me.

Your adult daughter needs to be making her own medical care arrangements. If I was the receptionist, you'd have been told, very nicely but firmly, that we wouldn't be discussing her business with you or anyone else, and that she should call herself.

Unfortunately it doesn't matter what line of work someone is in, if they have an abrupt manner, it will shine through, though maybe they were having a bad day and didn't have the patience for sensitivity and compassion

I’d be in two minds about it to be honest - it’s true that people calling to make an appointment for someone else to see the GP, don’t have to disclose the details to the receptionist, but at the same time, the receptionists are responsible for ensuring that they are directed to the appropriate GP in a surgery where there are a number of GPs in the one clinic. They can’t do that if they don’t know the details. That’s not expecting them to offer a medical opinion on anything, it’s just doing their job.

It’s obviously a busy surgery if there’s six GPs in the practice and the OP had to call 40 times just to get through, and then when they get through they give a vague answer about the nature of their call on their daughters behalf. Can anyone honestly say they’d have been able to empathise with the OP if they hadn’t provided the context they did in their opening post?

My own GP’s receptionists are battleaxes, but the same time they’re lovely, they’re just not, “people” people, not sure how to put that 😂 I’ve been in the surgery when the phones are ringing off the hook and they’re up to their necks in paperwork and fielding phone calls from irate people who are frustrated at how long it’s taken them to get through on the phone as though they’re a VIP, and I’ve seen them patient and empathetic with people on the phone too.

They’re not medical professionals, but they’re not mind-readers either, and they have to be able to prioritise and direct people to the right resources, which may mean they don’t always get an immediate appointment with the GP they want. I think it’s unreasonable for the OP to assume their daughter was treated any differently than any other person, just to spite her for the earlier interaction with her mother.

you're right i.e. they are all general practitioners now. however, in my local, one of the GPS speciality was respiratory care, another was womens reproductive systems, etc. and is called out as such on their website. so it may be a thing to direct to the most appropriate Dr. in the case of a last minute /more urgent bookng

The practice I attend has 4 GPs and two nurses. I go more regularly than I'd like due to ongoing issues, medication changes, etc. I ring the reception, say "hi, it's Ave Sodalis here, can I make an evening appointment?" They say "sure, do you have a preference of doctor?". I say "yes, if I could get Dr. Blah Blah please, that would be great". They say "Yup, we can do X at Y time, or we could go later on in the evening on Z". I say "Great I'll take Z, thank you".

That's it, the end. Nobody else knows what I'm there for, the only time a receptionist gets a glimpse of my medical history is when I ring for a repeat prescription to be sent to the chemist, or I bring in a sample. Occasionally, you might have to go as far as saying you need to book bloods or some specific test. Otherwise, I don't get asked why I'm there, and I don't even mind sharing. You get offered the next appointment available, or the next one that suits. If you say it's urgent, they squeeze you in. There is no interrogation and no need for one.

What about with no medical card?

From what my thinking was and from what I’ve read now on the citizens information site, you are registered with a GP… NOT a practice.

if I was taken to A&E tonight with XYZ problem, the onus is on the consultant to send a copy of the reports to my GP… not the surgery.

For some receptionists, it feels to me, that they enjoy the power.

Once, on requesting a meeting with the practice manager after the receptionist enquired as to what was wrong with “us”, ie me, that morning followed by repeated requests for exact details of my ailment, like the op it was something personal & not the business of those in the waiting area who could hear the shrill voice of the receptionist, the pm told me all the staff, including the doctors, were a little intimidated by that particular receptionist & so to oil the wheels, complaining patients were advised to play the game.

So for me the game is replying that, like the receptionist, my medical degree is incomplete but if she’d like to pay half the consultation fee & come see the doctor with me, we could both learn something. I’m sure both she & I are thrilled that the last time I was in the surgery was 2018.

In my surgery I see my GP 90% of the time. I never specify… “ hi,my name is ****** ********, I would like an appointment with my GP, Dr ******* ***** for Friday afternoon please “… It makes sense unless the GP is booked up or on holidays or down with the flu or whatever…. But the odd time, twice where I’ve arrived to see other GPs I’ve never been told on booking that my GP isn’t available.. no biggie there as both docs are superb but as a professional courtesy if my GP is known to be not available I’d expect to be informed by the receptionist.

I get that it’s none of the receptionists business why anyone would be looking to make an appointment with their GP, and that’s generally what happens in my experience anyway, but I’m saying in circumstances where someone is looking for an urgent appointment with a GP of their preference, then it’s not unreasonable for the receptionist to want more information as to why the person needs an urgent appointment. Nobody gets an urgent appointment just because they expect they’re entitled to one, and it’s the job of the receptionists to organise their GP’s appointments.

I’m not saying it’s a case of being empathetic towards whoever they deem worthy either, like I said earlier - the receptionists in my own GPs surgery are battleaxes, but lovely, and that’s the way they are with everyone. I’d be paranoid if I thought I was the only person who, when I called to make an appointment, I got the feeling they were inches away from saying “Oh, it’s you 😒”. They’re like that with everyone.

Exactly.

a splitting headache could be multiples of medical conditions from a migraine to a brain aneurysm.

It’s not prioritising appointments based upon medical need, it’s deciding whether or not an appointment can be made on the basis of GPs availability.

If, as the OP described, they were having to call 40 times before they got through to one of four receptionists in a surgery of six GPs, then the receptionist should be able to ask for the reason the person needs an urgent appointment in order to be able to determine whether it’s possible, or just say to the person, as the receptionist in this case appears to have done - they can’t guarantee they will see the GP they want, and they aren’t going to make an urgent appointment either.

Having deja Vu then I realized you've opened two threads on the same issue.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058227077/doctors-surgeries-receptionists#latest

You're not going to get a nurse to work as an receptionist not on the low wages they get paid.

If something is urgent you should be going to A&E not a GP that operates office hours.

The issue with the OP was not urgent, wanted to skip the queue to avoid having to go to A&E because that takes too long. The reason people are sent to A&E and DDoc is for out of hours "urgent" cover. Also where they are at capacity. By insisting on going to a GP and getting a not immediate appointment, it implies it's not urgent.

Also if you ring back later you might get a cancellation that wasn't there earlier.

People should note. A lot of people are referred to A&E because the GP has no capacity. They complain about people doing this but the system is broken and over loaded.

What's has any of that got to do with emergencies or Irish GPs.