Mostly I have been absent from blogging due to being poorly. Which has been about as nice as you can imagine. My sinusitis is flaring up, and it is affecting my balance as well as my head feeling like it is being squeezed in a vice. It is manageable today. Yesterday it wasn’t.
Friday was taken up mostly with Oscar being poorly. I tried to book him an emergency appointment at what should be our new doctor’s surgery. The woman was so utterly rude, and unhelpful that I ended up slamming the phone down on her.
It went like this:
I’ve just moved into the area, my four year old son is poorly and I need an emergency appointment for him today. I wonder if you can help me? I know we need to come in and register with you, but this is an emergency. (at this point I describe his symptoms, which have come on suddenly and which are a little alarming. There are enough of them for me to be thinking the word meningitis).
You need to register.
Yes. I am aware of that. But I also need an emergency appointment today, as my son is poorly.
You need to register (big pause) and anyway, we don’t have any appointments for today.
Ah. Thank you for telling me that. I assume you do have emergency appointments however, and appointments say for people who are visitors to the area, but who need to see a doctor today?
You need to register.
I understand that I need to register, and I am happy to do that. What I am trying to ascertain is whether I can get someone to see my son today. There is a system whereby urgent appointments are handed out, so how do we go about getting him an urgent appointment?
You need to register.
Yes. I. Know. But what about someone seeing my son today?
Well, we can’t see him, because you need to register.
I do get it. But I am not asking about registering now. What I am asking is if I can get anyone to see my son today, as an emergency?
Well. You could see another doctor’s surgery. There’s one in Barwell.
Great.
But of course, they won’t see you if you haven’t registered.
Look. Please could you stop being rude and unhelpful and just answer my question? I am asking for some help here.
I AM NOT BEING RUDE.
I beg to differ. Please. I am trying to find out how I can get my son seen by a doctor today. It seems from what you are saying, that even if I bring him to your surgery, and register with you, that there are still no appointments available.
Well. Of course we see emergency patients. (said in a tone which clearly implies that this is not an emergency and that hell will freeze over before she lets me see anyone).
Great.
But you need to register, and we have no appointments today.
Yes. Ok, but he is four. He has sore eyes, is complaining that the light his hurting his eyes, his temperature is up, and he has swollen glands. I don’t want to leave it until you might be able to fit him in. I need someone to see him today.
You need to register.
Right. But I don’t want to register with you today, and bring him out to the doctor’s surgery if nobody is going to see him. He is poorly. I don’t want to drag him about unnecessarily. If you can tell me that I can have an emergency appointment for him, then I will bring him in and register.
Why don’t you just leave him at home then? You don’t HAVE to bring him with you?
Did you hear what I said? He is four years old. I am here with him, on my own. There isn’t anyone else to look after him, and you are advising me to leave him at home on his own while he is ill?
Yes.
You are the rudest, most unhelpful woman I have ever met.
I put the phone down.
I am shaking with rage.
I call Jason. He advises me to call our old GP’s surgery, where we are still registered, and make an appointment. I speak to the receptionist. She makes me an appointment. We take Oscar to his appointment. It turns out not to be serious, and merely a continuation of this viral thing he has had for a few days.
We apologise to the doctor for taking up her time. She says that it is no bother, and that with small children displaying the symptoms that he had it is always better to be safe than sorry as they can deteriorate so quickly and it is very difficult to diagnose your own child. She is charming and helpful.
We go home.
I cannot go to the surgery we should be registering with. I will kill that woman. Jason is going to make an official complaint about her to the practice manager next week. I am still seething, and it has taken me this long to calm down enought to even write about it.
You poor, poor thing. I’m administering soothing head strokes from a distance to both you and Oscar while assembling a mob with pitchforks and flaming torches to deal with the receptionist. She needs smacking upside the head with an attitude adjuster in the shape of a clue-by-four. Complain vociferously to the practice manager as her advice could clearly have put Oscar in danger if it had turned out to be meningitis.
I’m glad you got to vent about this- no doubt you will be inundated with soothing comments and soon feel much better. Hope Oscar is feeling less poorly AND am glad that Jason is complaining. I hope he does and he does it in writing. That’s disgraceful! Although the pitchforks and flaming torches would be much more satisfying!
DOn’t worry about the receptionist, she’s probably a bitch everywhere she goes and as a consequence gets poor service everywhere: cold food, indifferent waitresses, hostile parking meter people, and her workmates probably don’t love her either!
Poor Oscar. Good that it isn’t meningitis- crap he feels poorly so close to Christmas.
I have had many rows with receptionists. They are my nemesis. They are not medically qualified to comment, and I hate contacting them.
The nicest they have ever been was when I registered Pippa, and the woman said it was the nicest name she had heard for ages.(But I live in an area of Jayden/Kayeden/Shmaydens, so that isn’t difficult).
Am such a snob.
What a complete cow. She is a cancerous hemorrhoid on your Christmas.
In case this is of any future use, Uncle Richard’s Quickie Meningitis Test(TM)…
1-Does it hurt when he tries to touch his chin to his chest?
2-Does the light hurt his eyes?
3-Is there a purply rash on his trunk, tummy, and/or back?
4-Is he running a fever?
A “Yes” to #1 should send you to a doctor immediately. A yes in two or more other boxes should do the same thing.
That is unspeakably bad. When Jason makes his complaint he should ask the Practise manager where the receptionist got her medical degree that allows her to decide who does and doesn’t see a doctor? Because of the meningitis risk I was under the impression that children would always be seen if they displayed those symptoms, plus there’s the re-emergence of H1N1 flu that is on the rise again in the UK. Although I have to say this rigid attitude seems to be par for the course, my Mum has had similar problems seeing a doctor in her practise. There you need to ring between 8.30 and 9.00 am to stand any chance of an appointment or take a chance and stagger down to the surgery and hope for the best. Which is what she finally did last Winter and promptly collapsed on the floor. Her GP was horrified that she had been trying for 4 days to get an appointment and gave the receptionist a bollocking in front of the suitably enthralled waiting room. Since then she hasn’t had so much trouble with seeing a doctor when she thinks it necessary.
Hope you are both feeling better soon. Is your sinus problem possibly worsened by the MOD’s atmosphere? Maybe try a few days on an antihistamine to see if that helps.
Mrs Jones
Thank you. Am feeling calmer now.
Josie
I am hoping that all you said about her is true.
Jo
Me too, such a raging snob. One has to have something to feel superior about darling!
Richard
Thank you hon. I will use this list a lot I suspect.x
Sharon
The piriton is out in force. It is always the same with doctor’s receptionists I think. There is at least one in every practice.