My GP Surgery

A new policy seems to have been adopted by our GP surgery.

When you call for an appointment, and even if you go in to book it in person, the receptionist always now asks "What's the appointment for?"!

Personally, I find this intrusive in the extreme, but they've obviously been told to do it by the practice bosses. It's bad enough being asked over the phone but when you're asked at reception, which is also part of the (often crowded) waiting area, I think it's not really acceptable.

Maybe you can simply answer "Personal" but I've not tried it, myself.

I'm curious to know whether our surgery is unique or whether this is becoming the norm.

Cheers.

Mike

Goodness me, I'd find that rather intrusive too. The reception area in our Health Centre is open-plan and I hate it because anyone sitting in the waiting section can hear every single word. Yes, there is a sign saying "please ask if you would like to speak to someone in private" but I don't feel that should be necessary. Unfortunately, we have a couple of receptionists who obviously enjoy their 'power' but I have to say on the whole they are very polite and I've not known them ask why you need to see the GP. However, it must be twelve months or more since I visited so I guess it could have all changed!

We do have a Suggestion/Comment box......do you have one? If so, I suggest you make your feelings known and perhaps if more patients do the same the system MIGHT be changed.

Surgery I am with only ask what the appointment is for if you are calling for an emergency appointment.

That isn`t good practise IMO. Wouldn`t sound good if everybody overheard a patient say " oh well I`m here cos I think I might have a case of the clap " Seriously it could be more than embarrassing for many people couldn`t it ? If they persist in following this practise I`d simply say its a personal health matter between me and the Doctor, I`m not being rude but I prefer not to say what the problem is over the phone/in the waiting room etc. It can`t be nice for the receptionist to have to ask such questions either.

Definitely raise it with the practice manager, either in person or via a suggestion box. My surgery now has online appointment and repeat prescriptions which is a real boon. Previously it was an 8am free-for-all to get through by phone before all the "emergency" appointments for that day had gone, usually by about 8:15am! It's worth asking about a web-based booking system, they may already have one. The great thing for me is the 2 week "book in advance" appointments appear online on Sunday evenings, before people start phoning on Monday morning. It's also quite handy to refer back to previous appointments so I can say "I was here on 3rd of January about...."

I don't think the receptionist should ever ask what the problem is. The problem of people booking "emergency" appointments when it's not a medical emergency is of their own making because the availability of pre-bookable consultations is over-stretched at my GR surgery. Other surgeries don't even have any appointments other than the book-on-the-day ones! What used to drive me made was the GP saying come back in 3 weeks, but the appointment system couldn't book beyond 2 weeks ahead or all the available slots were already booked. If the GP says this to me I ask him to book it, a couple of time the Doctor has looked aghast but they have rung through to reception to authorise an appointment! At least it opens a discussion about how difficult it is to book a future visit. Only the senior GPs can modify the practice's appointment policy, the reception staff are just following instructions however all-powerful they think they are! It's as though the reception staff mistrust every patient...a bit like me when my kids feigned illness to get a day off school!

Try to stay calm* and put across you concerns. Surely they'll review their policy if enough people query it?

Jude xx

PS I did once burst into tears (post-natal and very stressed) but it didn't get me a sooner appointment

I book my appts online or on the phone and with the latter, yes, you do get asked what the appt is required for - they have a notice up about it - I suppose they also do it if you are there in person, which might be awkward! I don't have a problem with it on the phone tho - I find that if I tell them what it is and that I'm worried they will get the doc to ring me back, and if he/she thinks I need to be seen I'm asked if I can get down at such-and-such a time, rather than having to wait days to be able to see someone.

That sounds unacceptable to me.

Unless it was for something routine like a follow-up appointment, prescription check etc, I would respond politely stating "a personal matter I wish to discuss with the doctor thank you"

Many thanks for your replies. I must admit I di actually expect, if only by the law of averages, that someone would be at a practice which had the same policy but it seems that, on this straw poll, mine is unique.

Vienna, I was going to use a quote like yours. However, I was going to use "piles" rather than "the clap"!!

We don't have an online booking facility. It's either face-to-face or phone from 8am. In other words, identical to Akimbo's the 8 o'clock free for all.

I'll have a look for a suggestion box. I don't remember seeing one before but maybe I was my usual unobservant self.

After posting my original message, I did actually send an email about it to the Department of Health. I'll let you know what they say - assuming they reply at all!!

Cheers.

Your not on your own Mike our receptionists always ask what the appointment is for at our surgery and to make an appointment is near on impossible and if you phone its straight onto an automated system that tells you your in a queue and you can wait on the phone for anything up to half an hour its quicker to get in the car and go in person its often very frustrating and so time consuming I think they forget as well as being unwell most of us still have a job to go to .
If you manage to get through on the phone they say the Dr will phone you back but they never give you a time they just expect you to be there ready and waiting well I suppose a lot of people are home all day but they forget not all of us are.

Totally unacceptable, not asked at my surgery, Heaven help them if the policy changes!

If they don't have a suggestions box there should be a complaints procedure, if you keep your wording as neutral as possible I think it's fair to raise your concerns via the complaints route. Maybe try to find the number for your county's PALS (patient liason) and possibly your local PCT (or whatever they call themselves these days) because the region's GP contracts are held with (what used to be the Health Authority) the PCT. The Dept of Health are probably a little too far removed to get involved (imho). I'd just ask whether you're obliged to answer the receptionist's questions, and can they refuse you an appointment based on you not answering.

I hope you get a response.

Jude xx

Just tell them data protection prevents me discussing this with you. None of their buddy business!!!

You could always write to the Practice Manager.......I found ours very approachable after the lack of help for our daughter. He rang me and admitted that the situation had been handled very badly and he would raise the concern at the next Staff Training session.

I wrote to our practice manager (twice!) "expressing concern" (ie complaining!) about various things..they replied but really, what can they do..we have too many people in the country now and obviously all public services are very stretched. Our practice last time I looked at the website had 14,000 patients and most times I go now there'll be a couple of interpreters turn up for patients who lack English..I don't know whether the practice funds that, probably not, but I think on the whole they do their best - it's just not the best that we've been used to.

I think the reason they ask is to see how urgent you need the appointment so if they think you can wait a day or a week they can juggle the appointments around to suit them.
but if its really a condition that needs to be seen earlier they do their best to squeeze you in that day.
of course if you dont want to say what the appointment is for you dont have to especially if you feel its really personal
fortunatly mine have usually been very dull and routine things I've often been sent a letter asking me to make the appointment by them so they know anyway I guess.

Thanks Akimbo - I'd completely forgotten about PALS. I'd have contacted them first if I had!

Milly, your practice's system sounds even worse than ours!

The problem is if you're really feeling poorly you're not in the best place to argue about your rights being infringed. Then once you're better you lose the impetus to take it further. I'm the worst for being short-term outraged but then don't take it further. Although I did once write to a consultant who was trying to discharge me because I'd had the prescribed number of consultations but wasn't any nearer feeling better and I copied it to everyone I could think of and it's surprising how quickly I was invited in to discuss my future appointments. Funny thing was I wrote the letters at the peak of my indignation but almost didn't post them the next day when I'd calmed down.

Jude xx

I would be tempted to say mind your own ****** business. The receptionist once said to me could you go to chemist and ask him for something and the answer was NO as the doc had told me to see him as soon as possible if the problem reoccurred.

I think that it is getting harder and harder to get to see a G.P now a days.
I had to wait 4 weeks fro a "routine appointment" and even then received a letter canceling it the day before it was due .
the letter asked me to call the surgery to remake the appointment, after waiting on the phone for over 30 mins I drove to the surgery and made a "fuss" in reception when I was told it would be another 3 weeks before I could see the Dr.
I was given an appointment for the next day.
So may be making a "fuss " in person is what we all need to do.
I was also asked why I needed to see the Dr but by then I was so mad I told her it was none of her business.

That's like the opposite of good parenting, the receptionist is rewarding bad behaviour (just an analogy Madmax, I don't mean you were behaving badly, just that you only got the appointment because you made a fuss). It's the quietly very poorly who might meekly accept waiting 7 weeks to be seen who might be seriously at risk. My late mum's generation, now in their 80s, are the ones who've been brought up to accept that the surgery/doctors know best and not to bother the doctor unless it's important, for whom prompt diagnosis and treatment might be vital (mind you this may be true at any age).

Jude xx