"Poor communication skills"

Some of the reception staff have poor communication skills. The reception area is separated from the patient waiting area and the reception staff sometimes shout to call patients in a rude and disrespectful manner at times. This has been experienced by myself and made me feel disrespected as a patient. This could have been avoided by the reception staff entering the waiting room and asking to see the patient. Shouting has a negative effect on the patient in this way and can create embarrassment when delivered in an aggressive manner albeit not intended so by the receptionist. The staff need to be made aware of the effects of such behaviour on the patient. Reception staff also fail to provide clear messages to patients which does not contribute to a positive patient experience. I have, for example, been told that a doctor could not see me by the receptionist and shortly after the doctor came out to see me. This is a pity as other reception staff have better communication skills. This weakness of communication also applies to certain doctors. I have noted that the body language of these can be quite negative, for example, speaking to patients with arms folded and showing no emotion during a consultation. Patients require some degree of demonstrated empathy by the professional. This is a pity as other doctors in the practice have vastly superior communication skills in this respect and make one feel cared for. The nurse practitioners on the other hand have excellent skills in this respect and some of the GPs could benefit from observing them in consultation. There is therefore a significant imbalance in communication across all areas of the practice based upon my own experience.