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The Old School Surgery 2017-08-14 Person 1 5 0

I called today to try and book an appointment with the doctor in the community text of anxiety and frequent panic attacks and explained that I needed to speak to someone face to face. The receptionist Helen explained that I did not need to see the doctor for this and refused multiple requests for an actual appointment, booking a telephone triage instead. When checking my number, there was an error in how it was presented on the system. I feel she proceeded to be very passive aggressive about this, saying 'see, this is why you need to update us when you change number or address,' and then, 'you must have written it down wrong.' When a person with mental health issues calls, I tears to request help, these barriers and blame are really understanding helpful. I almost hung up the call at this point because I was so uncomfortable and asked to be put through to someone else, which Helen eventually agreed to. I explained how she was making me uncomfortable but neither she or Janet's offered any apology or deescalation and continued to refuse a face to face appointment with the doctor. I work as a Medical Secretary in the AWP and would be horrified in one of my colleagues spoke to a patient this way and did not offer any support during a difficult call. I really am very, very disappointed and if it were not for the excellent support provided by Dr Joshi, I would change my GP surgery as a result of today's experience.