NHS receptionists with no medical training forced to monitor A&E patients

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Northerner

Northerner

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Receptionists are being forced to work as “floor walkers” to help monitor patients awaiting assessment in over-stretched A&Es.

The alarming move was uncovered in a surprise Care Quality Commission inspection at Doncaster Royal Infirmary.

A damning report, published last week, said unqualified clerical staff did not have the training required to identify deteriorating patients.

And it warned that adults and children seeking help at the South Yorkshire hospital were “at risk”.

The A&E’s safety rating was downgraded to “inadequate” following last November’s snap check and bosses were told to take immediate action.

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/nhs-receptionists-no-medical-training-14177416
 
Quite right too. In my day, it was brainless medical students who did the dogsbody work. At least we wore white coats and a stethoscope round our necks.
 
Sounds a bit like my GP surgery receptionists! They demand to know why you want to see your GP and if in their opinion you don't need to see one they refuse an appointment.
Which I find odd as they have no medical qualifications what so ever.
 
My surgery never ask that question. Must vary, I suppose.
 
Our surgery says that the reception team are trained to 'give you an appointment with the right professional' In other words, to divert you to the nurse if all the doctors are busy. It seems to work, though, because if the nurse doesn’t like the look of what you’ve gone in with, she immediately says..'I’ll go and get a doctor' so you get seen quicker!
 
Pumper_Sue said:
Sounds a bit like my GP surgery receptionists! They demand to know why you want to see your GP and if in their opinion you don't need to see one they refuse an appointment.
Which I find odd as they have no medical qualifications what so ever.
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As I have noted previously the receptionist at my surgery read and explained my test results before I was anywhere near the GP (who tbh wasn't that interested). Who knew that so many receptionists were also qualified GPs...😱. When I had to go for a repeat test the receptionist also informed me it was nothing to worry about. Oh good, perhaps in future I will bypass the GP and simply have a chat with whoever is at the desk😳. Unbelievable.
 
My daughter recently had her annual review, and because she's 12 now they decided that she must give a urine sample as well as blood. Well, trying to get her to wee into a little pot was a nightmare, she just couldn't do it and was nearly in tears, the doctor was a new one and quite a nice chap but insisted we had to produce the sample before we left the hospital. Well we'd have been there all day, so I eventually had a word with our DSN (who is absolutely fab) and she said we could do it at home and drop it off at the GP's surgery and they would send it back to the hospital. Daughter found it much easier to produce the required sample in the comfort of her own bathroom with no pressure!

Now the receptionists at our GP surgery are usually very nice, but I got a right stroppy one that day! I took the sample in just after lunch and she huffed and puffed because it wouldn't get sent until tomorrow now so they would have to refrigerate it, which might mean that the required test wouldn't work, didn't they tell you to bring it in in the morning? Er...no. And is it the first urine of the day, it should be. Er... Also no, in fact they wanted us to do the sample at the hospital at 10am so that wouldn't have been the first morning one either. And she huffed and puffed and said it was all wrong and we'd probably have to provide another sample, and so I said "well let's risk it shall we, all I was asked to do was provide a sample, change the date on the label to match when it was actually taken, and drop it off here, which I have done. No mention was made whatsoever of any time restrictions, so if the hospital decide that they need us to do another sample we'll do it then." And they didn't, and the result was normal :D
 
The receptionists at the place where I go know everything, apparently do nothing but work and are scarily efficient. If they weren't also nice people I'd suspect they were actually robots, supplied by Big Pharma.
 
I very rarely need to see the doctor face to face, so these days I often ask for a phone appointment. Much quicker all round, and saves me taking an hour to get down in my wheelchair, or twenty minutes on the scooter and struggling in on crutches. Not much of a choice, to be honest, both make me end up worse for seeing the doctor, which is hardly the point:D
 
I prefer phone appointments too, I can’t go to a packed surgery in case I catch something, and it’s wrong to expect someone to come out every time. The receptionists are brill at deciding whether I’m being too stoical and need to see someone.
 
Madeline said:
I prefer phone appointments too, I can’t go to a packed surgery in case I catch something, and it’s wrong to expect someone to come out every time. The receptionists are brill at deciding whether I’m being too stoical and need to see someone.
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I'm with you on the surgery visits. I'm rarely actually ill (thankfully), but probably the biggest chance I have of becoming ill is when I have to go an sit in a waiting room full of poorly people! 😱 🙄 Having said that, I prefer to discuss things face to face, I have never liked phones and prefer a bit of eye contact and opportunity to consider what I am being told - on the phone a doctor can see you considering something, but in the surgery he/she can patiently wait for a response.
 
Northerner said:
I'm with you on the surgery visits. I'm rarely actually ill (thankfully), but probably the biggest chance I have of becoming ill is when I have to go an sit in a waiting room full of poorly people! 😱 🙄 Having said that, I prefer to discuss things face to face, I have never liked phones and prefer a bit of eye contact and opportunity to consider what I am being told - on the phone a doctor can see you considering something, but in the surgery he/she can patiently wait for a response.
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I’ve had Skype consults with my immunologist, that was really good if rather weird.
 
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