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Very bad receptionist experiences. Has anyone else had this?

recptioinsts are the first people a patient sees or speaks to so they should have empathy understanding and compassion. A normal healthy person will become vulunerable and even scared, down and low when ill.  So when a recptionist is rude or insists a patient goes home and rings through for an appointment between 8 and 10 knowing full well it is almost impossible to get through  between those time, especially if the patient has children of school age and are rushing around while being sick or struggling to breathe or suffering with other symptoms. It would not hurt for the receptionist to offer some support instead of overstressing their rules that can never be broken in a very rude way.  A very vulnerable patient could be pushed over the top, I take it that the recptionists are not allowed to read a patients notes, so have no idea of ongoing symptoms, so in that case should be considerate and kind.  if they feel the urge to snap and be rude then maybe they should consider a career change.  If a shop assistant is rude to a customer they would be dicsaplined

I have been reduced to tears by recptionists.  I had tried to get appointments in every way possible when I had rectual fistula for 2 weeks and in the end paid to go private where I was diagnosed   with anal cancer and then on going back to the surgery for support and understanding I was banned ftom the sugery.  My mother was riddled with cancer when she died, for five years my timid mother refused to book an appointment as she felt intimidated by the receptionists. She suffered in silence. When we tried to get her to see a doctor she would get so upset and said she could not face talking to the receptionists because they were so rude   She felt she was making a fuss over nothing.  She came from the age when people had the upmost respect for doctors and should never cause a scene or make a fuss.  When will it be taken seriously that these doctor receptionists  are rude and should go on a course on how to talk to patients.  They only need the basic office skills to become a receptionist.  They should need a qualification in health care   

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  • Hi BBBOOP,

    I read your post because of the title, I must say I agree with what you said. Receptionists can be extremely rude. The last two times I was at the doctors to collect some tests it was as if I was disturbing them. I am not really sure why the majority of them are like that, there is simply no need.

    However what caught my eye was the fact that you have been diagnosed with anal cancer. I have also been diagnosed and will start treatment in a weeks time. This is a very rare type of cancer and there are not many forums about it. How are you and have you been treated yet?

    I am still in shock as I had none of the risk factors and am fit and healthy, at least I thought I was 

    best wishes x

  • Hi Amhe

    Like you I was feeling fit and healthy but I had started to have spots of blood in my stools, hardly anything really.  I finished my treatment at the end of December.  I had radiotherapy and chemo in the form of tablets.  The radiotherapy was for 5 and  a half weeks monday to friday   I struggled with the treatment but everyone is different.  My skin is very sensitive and I burnt really badly badly from the radiotherapy.  Make sure you moisturise really well all round the whole pelvic area as often as you can after each session but not just before a session and drink loads of water.  This Wednesday I will get the results.. 3 months ago I was told it had shrunk by 90% which they said was really good but the treatment carries on working for 6 months after it  stops so I have everything crossed for Wednesday.  I am feeling so much better now and like my old self.  The moisturiser I used was moo gloo which I loved  and got on line it is recomended by oncolcogists.  The hospital give you E 45 cream.  Also dont be afraid to talk to mac millans I still talk to my councellor now he has been so supportive all the way through my journey.

    I wish you all the best with your treatment and hope everything goes really well   

  • Hello BBBOOP

    Thank you very much for your reply, It is really good to hear of other people's experiences. I am very anxious about the side effects as anything I have read on forums describes it as horrendous, that's the most common adjective. When I asked the consultant he told me not to Google, though when he went through the radiotherapy treatment and had to discuss the side effects there were quite a lot. I also have sensitive skin so thank you for the tip about the cream. I take it factor 50 doesn't work . I really hope Wednesday goes well for you and I will be thinking of you. The suggestion to speak to a counsellor is a very good idea, thank you for that.

    Thank you for your kind words, I'm not looking forward to the next few weeks but hopefully it will all be worth it - for both of us 

Reply
  • Hello BBBOOP

    Thank you very much for your reply, It is really good to hear of other people's experiences. I am very anxious about the side effects as anything I have read on forums describes it as horrendous, that's the most common adjective. When I asked the consultant he told me not to Google, though when he went through the radiotherapy treatment and had to discuss the side effects there were quite a lot. I also have sensitive skin so thank you for the tip about the cream. I take it factor 50 doesn't work . I really hope Wednesday goes well for you and I will be thinking of you. The suggestion to speak to a counsellor is a very good idea, thank you for that.

    Thank you for your kind words, I'm not looking forward to the next few weeks but hopefully it will all be worth it - for both of us 

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