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Not able to get appoitment due to extremly rude...

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"Not able to get appoitment due to extremly rude..."

About: Riverside Practice

We are new to the town and wanted to register and at the same time get an appointment at the doctors due to health problems, however, from the first point of speaking to the receptionist over the phone we are really dissatisfied with this surgery as first point of contact is the reception who suppose to be helpful and not so rude and refusing like this one was.

In all previous surgeries in different towns they were so lovely, friendly and welcoming and were there to help - they allowed us to bring all the paperwork in and typed it in computer while we were waiting and right away booked us appointment the same time as we were there but this receptionist made it impossible and yet was really rude and refused to book any appointment at all, trying to act like a doctor and telling us that we cannot see doc because my husband's illness is not that serious while he is really struggling over many weeks.

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Responses

Response from Riverside Practice 5 years ago
Riverside Practice

Submitted on 26/06/2018 at 10:52
Published on nhs.uk at 14:06

I am very sorry you have had this experience. I don’t recognise any of our receptionists would behave in the way you mention in your comments, and I will be meeting with them to discuss. There is never an excuse for rudeness and I apologise unreservedly if that has happened. Sometimes when the receptionist is not able or allowed to satisfy the request of the patient, this can be interpreted as being rude.

If you would like to contact me directly (the practice phone number is 01354 661922 or via the website) I would like to establish some more detail and look into circumstances.

However for information, all practices are required to physically check proof of identity before we register patients. Sadly these days’ registering with a GP generates an NHS number, and this can be used fraudulently. I am not suggesting that is the case here, but we do have to treat all patients the same. These are not our rules but standard through the NHS and all practices are supposed to adhere to them. It is also a safety measure as medical records are transferred electronically these days.

Because the medical records are now fully computerised, the receptionist can’t book an appointment until the patient registration details are entered on the system. So, identity check, enter details onto the system then book an appointment is the process the reception staff should follow. We can do this while you wait, and we do so for urgent clinical problems.

We also have special arrangements for patients who are housebound or in nursing homes. You mention the problem was present for several weeks, so I am not sure if it had suddenly become urgent?

Along with most other Cambridgeshire practices, all our reception staff have received training to guide patient to the appropriate appointment. This is sometime mistaken for the receptionist having a clinical opinion or making a diagnosis. There are not trained to do that, but they are trained and expected to be able to identify urgent or emergency situations and advise accordingly.

Kind regards

Paul Carroll

Practice Manager

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