Why are Doctor’s Receptionists so rude?

Why are Doctor’s Receptionists so rude? Is this on their Job Description and Personal Specification?

Yesterday my partner, Alison, asked me to phone her Doctor’s Surgery to book an appointment for her to see a specific female doctor (she was at work and was unable to do it herself).

Before I proceed with this posting, I feel that it is important that readers understand that I have both hearing and speech impairments.

The receptionist answered the phone and I asked if it was possible to make an appointment with for Alison to see Dr M. “Is the appointment for you?” she asked,“No it is for Alison” (I have a deep voice and could not really be mistaken for a woman on the phone).

I could not understand what she said next, and I explained that I was deaf and asked her to repeat it and again I could not understand it and repeated my request for to speak slowly and clearly.

This time I understood the question and we agreed a time and date.

Then she said that she had no-one by my partner’s name on the register and she spelled out the name that she had input. Again I did not understand it and asked her to speak slowly and clearly.

She then spelt it out with a condemning slowness. I then realised that she had not heard me correctly, corrected her and she found Alison’s file on the computer system.Then I heard her say, again very condescendingly, “Now we are getting somewhere!”

As the readers of this blog will appreciate, by this time I was getting more than a little pissed off by this time.

The Receptionist then said; “You do realise that Dr M’s office is upstairs”, so I assumed that she had read on her VDU that Alison is a wheelchair user.

I pointed out to this woman that Alison is a wheelchair user and that she has seen Dr M in a downstairs room before.

Reply; “Oh, I don’t know about that!”

We will have to see what happens when Alison goes along to the surgery next Monday.

But why are these Receptionists not trained to communicate effectively and why are they so rude?

Why has the only female doctor in this surgery got an office upstairs?

Finally, why is it so difficult for a female wheelchair user to get an appointment to see a female doctor?

I am certain that non-disabled women would not put up with such treatment.