Care Opinion

Text size

Theme

Language

Videos in BSL or ISL
Help with language translation
Help with reading or listening

Rude staff

Story from nhs.uk

"Rude staff"

About: Penn Hill Surgery, Yeovil

This morning at 8:30 I tried to contact a doctor through the ask my gp online service but with no luck. I understand they can switch off the service before 9:30 if they reach maximum capacity of emergency cases, but from the way it is explained on their website, it's not clear at all that this could happen even at 8:30, which is when the service is supposed to be switched on. I felt like the conversation with the first lady I spoke with over the phone wasn't going anywhere, since she kept repeating the same sentence over and over, so I asked if there was someone else I could speak to. She then transferred the call to a colleague of her who was quite rude! The lady just cut me off saying I wasn't listening to her, which was not true, I had been listening and very carefully. She also just kept using the same sentence as the first lady, saying that they had already reached maximum capacity. I felt it was like talking to a rude robot. After a while, after asking the "right" questions, I was able to understand that by emergency cases they don't mean people who can have access to the surgery since they are considered emergencies; they mean that these people are a priority and therefore can use the ask my gp service before others. That's why at 8:30am they had already reached maximum capacity. For future reference I would recommend trying to find a different way of explaining things rather than just repeating the same exact sentence over and over. Also showing a bit more respect or empathy wouldn't hurt either. It looks like I am not the only one who has complained about some very rude people working at the reception. I really hope the manager will take action because these rude people are ruining the reputation of the surgery and I know that there are also some caring and professional people working there.

More about:
nhs.uk logo
Do you have a similar story to tell? Tell your story & make a difference ››

Responses

Response from Penn Hill Surgery, Yeovil 2 years ago
Penn Hill Surgery, Yeovil

Submitted on 26/09/2022 at 18:12
Published on nhs.uk on 27/09/2022 at 19:14

Dear Ambra

Thank you for bringing to our attention and I am sorry you felt it necessary to do so. Feedback is very important to us. Can I clarify one point at the onset, we are not a 24/7 emergency service and you have referenced to that priority in several places – a medical emergency should be routed to either A&E, and Urgent Treatment Centre or a Minor Injuries Unit depending on its nature. We refer to our demand as same-day or routine. Every day we have a finite capacity for routine activity. This is driven by the number of clinical staff I have working during our core hours from 8am to 6:30pm. Once that capacity is reached, I have to say “no more”. I always must keep in mind that cases requiring same-day response will come in throughout the day and have capacity to provide for them. They may have referred to this as urgent cases when you contacted us. I am sorry you felt the staff you talked with were rude – that is, of course, not the image we wish to portray. They have guidance on how to deal with requests at different times and in various scenarios and we shall review that to see if improvements can take place.

The only instances that might be added to that days workload prior to 8:30am are likely to be cases of end of life care that were flagged up by the out of hours service. Requests from nursing homes about frail and elderly residents are another example. But these are the exception rather than the rule.

In the south west there is a known shortage of clinicians – I have been recruiting for a new staff GP for over 3 months with no suitable candidates despite a generous package including relocation. Having vacancies means at times I am operating with just the 1 GP plus 1 or more nurse practitioners. On such days I have to limit the capacity to same day only and AskMyGP is not available.

I am sorry you had the experience you did and for the upset it caused. We are working hard to try and overcome the current challenges. I hope I have demonstrated I have listened and am sincere about learning any lessons.

If you wish to discuss this further with me then contact me via our switchboard on 01935 470800. Kind regards, Brian Matthews, Practice Manager

  • {{helpful}} {{helpful == 1 ? "person thinks" : "people think"}} this response is helpful
Opinions
Next Response j
Previous Response k