St Andrews Medical Practice 2017-11-27 Person 1 5 0

My family is registered with St Andrews Medical practice (N20) for a year and I have never had a nice experience with them. Today, I had an encounter with the rudest receptionist ever (Yvonne). Yvonne who doesn’t know me or my son’s medical history, believed that she had the right to question my love and affection towards my young son, to say in her impolite way that I am not a good mother. Why? Because I chose not to wait in the hospital’s pharmacy for more than 90 minutes for his prescription, but instead I chose the route to go to their (unhelpful) GP practice. I was given the option at the hospital to either wait or take the letter and a copy of the prescription to the GP, who apparently they will be happy to prescribe it. So, actually dear Yvonne, I did put my son first when I made that decision. He was tired and upset that he had to wait another 1.30-2hrs for his medication after had been in the hospital for an hour and a half for his scheduled outpatient appointment. Well he is only 4 years old. According to this unprofessional receptionist “the practice doesn’t work like this” and "they will most possibly refuse to prescribe the medication". Unbelievable! A prescription issued by a specialist NHS consultant within one of the best hospitals in the country! Still, I am ready to accept that they have the right to refuse for their “justified” reasons. How am I supposed to know their way of business? It is their responsibility to communicate their unwillingness to help with prescriptions from hospitals, by directly informing the pharmacies of those hospitals so patients are not given the wrong information and option. I don’t understand how some receptionists believe that have the right to question a mother’s or carer’s love or a consultant’s decision. I have spent weeks in hospital because of my son’s medical condition. Waiting another two hours is nothing for me. I as a mother put my child’s health, comfort and happiness first. I should have expected though that the staff in St Andrews Medical practice would not be helpful, for one more time. Some people in these practices think they are superior, they have authorities by the God or the Queen or they think they know better that the experts in hospitals. Experts who know the patient better than the GPs, nurses or receptionists, experts who although are very busy spend time to read the history of the patient and carefully and actively listen to them and their parents. Medical Center managers stop ignoring the specialists, start putting the interest of your patients first and train your staff! The role of a professional receptionist is to help and inform in a polite way the patients of the practice. To be considerate of their needs and ill health. A professional receptionist will never make impolite comments and unnecessary, unwanted loutish judgments. Should also remember that working in a medical center as a receptionist does not qualify them as doctors.