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Rude receptionist

Story from nhs.uk

"Rude receptionist "

About: Frome Community Hospital

Would not recommend to use this urgent care setting. Arrived half past 9 on a Wednesday morning with my father who suffered a nasty fall. The receptionist on this morning was very blunt, unhelpful and broadcast what is meant to be private and confidential information you give about yourself and the reason your there to the whole waiting room. Very unfriendly and found what is already a difficult experience much harder . Two hours later and still not seen - not particularly busy . Felt unable to approach the staff to ask for guidance. You can hear everyone’s full names and dates of birth in the waiting area and know what they are in for due to the shouty nature of the receptionist.

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Responses

Response from Peter Harvey, Frome, West Mendip and Shepton Mallet Community Hospital, Somerset Foundation Trust 11 months ago
We have made a change
Peter Harvey
Frome, West Mendip and Shepton Mallet Community Hospital,
Somerset Foundation Trust

Submitted on 05/06/2024 at 21:36
Published on Care Opinion on 06/06/2024 at 08:00

Hello, my name is Pete Harvey and I am the Matron for Frome Hospital. Thank you for posting your story. I am sorry that you and your Dad's visit to Frome was not a positive one for you. I was sorry to hear about your Dad's fall and I hope he is okay now. At Frome Minor Injuries Unit (now called 'Urgent Treatment Centre'), we aim to deliver a compassionate and empathetic service. I am sorry that this was not your experience. The staff strive also to provide a highly confidential service. I will feed back to reception staff that it was possible for others to hear your Dad's details. We are looking at reconfiguring the reception spaces at Frome and it may be that changes are made which makes it less likely for details to be overheard. I appreciate how important confidentiality is to everyone, and it is a cornerstone of our practice in the NHS.

At MIU we aim to see people as soon as we are able, the national standard is that we see 76% of all patients within 4 hours. At our MIUs we often significantly exceed this target. Although it may not seem that we are busy looking at the waiting room, it depends on what patients are being treated at the time and how time consuming this may be for the MIU practitioners. When you are with an elderly, frail relative who has just fallen, I appreciate that 2 hours may seem like a very long time.

I would be happy to discuss this with you in more detail in person or by phone. Please phone the hospital and ask to speak to the Matron.

Once again, I am sorry that you did not have a good experience and I wish you and your Dad all the very best.

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