whome
03-02-2007, 05:02 PM
As a GP receptionist I'd like to give you an insight into what it's like working within a large surgery which just can't cope with the amount of patients on their books, even though they are not at full capacity, yet opening their catchment area to a much wider area soon.
The surgery uses the advanced access appointment system which means the majority of appointments are only bookable on the same day they are needed. A small proportion are opened one week in advance for early morning bookings and early evenings - aimed at working people who find it diffucult to attend at other times.
All appointments for the day are invariably booked by 9.30am, leaving anyone else who needs to see a GP after that time declined an appointment that day. I spend the majority of my morning telling people they cannot be seen and apologising. We can offer patients a phone number for a local hospital which will see them in the afternoon by appointment which is fine for simple medical problems, but nothing else, and understandably an inconvenience for the patients who expect to be seen by their GP.
Patients frequently complain they are waiting upwards of 15 minutes for the telephone to be answered. We ask for more staff to be manning telephones in the mornings and are declined by management. We have asked management to come in and sit in on a morning shift so they can appreciate how frustrating our jobs are, and to (hopefully) recognise that we need more staff. They refuse to do this.
As receptionists we are faced daily with often rude and aggressive patients. It seems to be a given that because we chose this job we have to put up with this. The GPs and Management tell us that they will back us and investigate incidents where we feel threatened or patients are aggressive towards us, but the reality is they will not remove any patient from their list because that loses them money. In fact, the ruder or more aggressive the patient is, the more likely they are to get what they want ahead of another patient who is pleasant.
Frankly I would be extremely frustrated if I were registered at the surgery where I work and would transfer to another, but I wouldn't take that frustration out on the receptionist. Receptionists are not responsible for GP or Management decisions. Often we despair at the decisions made on the day to day running of the surgery, but we have to carry them out.
We have periodic meetings where we are invited to put forward suggestions on how we think things would run smoother and offer a better service to the patients. You would think that being in the front line we might be listened to and our opinions valued - after all we are the people doing the job. Our suggestions to improve the service have never been used. We get knowing nods and "oh yes, we'll look into that" but that's as far as it ever goes.
Perhaps people might wonder why I stay in this job. There are two reasons. The first is that it fits in with school hours. The second is the majority of the patients who are lovely.
The surgery uses the advanced access appointment system which means the majority of appointments are only bookable on the same day they are needed. A small proportion are opened one week in advance for early morning bookings and early evenings - aimed at working people who find it diffucult to attend at other times.
All appointments for the day are invariably booked by 9.30am, leaving anyone else who needs to see a GP after that time declined an appointment that day. I spend the majority of my morning telling people they cannot be seen and apologising. We can offer patients a phone number for a local hospital which will see them in the afternoon by appointment which is fine for simple medical problems, but nothing else, and understandably an inconvenience for the patients who expect to be seen by their GP.
Patients frequently complain they are waiting upwards of 15 minutes for the telephone to be answered. We ask for more staff to be manning telephones in the mornings and are declined by management. We have asked management to come in and sit in on a morning shift so they can appreciate how frustrating our jobs are, and to (hopefully) recognise that we need more staff. They refuse to do this.
As receptionists we are faced daily with often rude and aggressive patients. It seems to be a given that because we chose this job we have to put up with this. The GPs and Management tell us that they will back us and investigate incidents where we feel threatened or patients are aggressive towards us, but the reality is they will not remove any patient from their list because that loses them money. In fact, the ruder or more aggressive the patient is, the more likely they are to get what they want ahead of another patient who is pleasant.
Frankly I would be extremely frustrated if I were registered at the surgery where I work and would transfer to another, but I wouldn't take that frustration out on the receptionist. Receptionists are not responsible for GP or Management decisions. Often we despair at the decisions made on the day to day running of the surgery, but we have to carry them out.
We have periodic meetings where we are invited to put forward suggestions on how we think things would run smoother and offer a better service to the patients. You would think that being in the front line we might be listened to and our opinions valued - after all we are the people doing the job. Our suggestions to improve the service have never been used. We get knowing nods and "oh yes, we'll look into that" but that's as far as it ever goes.
Perhaps people might wonder why I stay in this job. There are two reasons. The first is that it fits in with school hours. The second is the majority of the patients who are lovely.