"Rude receptionist "

Im 26 weeks pregnant and I called to make an appointment which the receptionist replied to “ we don’t have any appointments” which is understandable. I called because of a slapped cheek syndrome or “fifth disease” which both of my toddlers have brought home from school and is dangerous for my unborn baby- it can cause anaemia, miscarriage and stillbirth. I’ve had too many miscarriages so I called in worry to speak to a doctor or my midwife. All she said is “ I’ve made a note for her to call you” and hung up the phone on me whilst I was still talking, usually people ask “is there anything else?” or a “bye, have a nice day?”. It left me feeling like I was bothering her with my issues or how dare I call in the first place. I had to call back to speak about a different appointment. The phone hung up 3 times. I was first in line once I was connected. So I know they were not busy with phone calls, she just simply didn’t like me. When you get pregnant we are always told “don’t hesitate to call if you have a concern” Right? She is the reason why women don’t call because we feel as though we are a bother, because it might not be as serious. “Better be safe than sorry” a saying I have heard from a lot of good and caring NHS workers. This woman did not care at all, I was clearly bothering her morning. It all starts with a receptionist and good communication skills, that doesn’t just apply to doctors and nurses. You are all a team. And she’s made the whole Millview surgery look bad. If you hate your job please leave. It seems to be an ongoing problem with your practice. What actions are you taking to change the situation? Instead of constantly having to apologise to your patients about rude staff and that “they have been trained”. Please find out who answered my phone call this morning and please listen to the recording of our conversation and you will know exactly why I’m writing this review ( 8:43am, may 1st 2025) I want her name if that’s possible so I can take this further, or a personal apology from her for how I was treated. No patient should be left feeling like this, especially if it’s happening to multiple patients, all the reviews on here and google are public and this is clearly not just the one off, which saddens me.

I’ve been with Millview surgery since 2012 and this is the first time I want to change my GP practice.