"good once we'd got beyond the receptionist"

Anything else?

I took my mother to an outpatients appointment at the Machen unit yesterday. Although she had visited on many occassions with my late father this was the first time I had been there. My mother had just commented on how abrupt the staff on reception were and she wasn't wrong.

I just wanted to make the point that although the medical staff were suberb, the receptionist is always the first point of contact and to have someone greet you in a miserable, blunt and extremely unwlecoming manner does not help patients who are already often worried or unsettled about being there in the first place.

I would suggest that the managers responsible for such staff instill a more friendly and approachable attitude in their receptionists.