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Great clinical staff, rude receptionist.

Story from nhs.uk

"Great clinical staff, rude receptionist."

About: Royal Berkshire Hospital

What I liked

Children's A&E is a superb idea - very calming environment for children, plenty of activites/toys/books to help pass the time.

The Clinical staff were fantastic - as always.

The Reception staff left a lot to be desired.

What could be improved

After waiting 90 minutes with a 2 year old (we were the sole patients in childrens a&e the entire time). I approached a receptionist with a smile and politely asked how much longer the wait would be. They replied ' I can't tell you, ask one of the nurses when they come out' and left their seat and walked away while i was still standing at the desk. Bearing in mind a nurse had not 'come out' in the last 90 minutes -they implied it was not their responsibility to provide patient care and i was putting them out. Surely it is not my responsibility as a patient to approach a nurse? The receptionist did upset me which caused added anxiety for my child.

I realise that EPR is being introduced - but patient care must come first. This was sheer rudeness, nothing else.

As i have said, the triage nurse and doctor were lovely and very professional - but the receptionist made an unpleasant experience, even more unpleasant.

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Responses

Response from Royal Berkshire Hospital 11 years ago
Royal Berkshire Hospital

Submitted on 25/06/2012 at 15:51
Published on nhs.uk on 05/09/2012 at 21:01

Sincere apologies for this experience. We strive to ensure excellent customer service to our clients and to this end all staff are trained appropriately.

We very much believe patients come first and apologise profusely that on this occasion we have failed. The Admin Services Manager will personally speak to the staff concerned and reiterate the need for a calm professional approach and that we strive to meet the needs of the patients and relatives when questions are asked of us.

You are correct that EPR is being introduced and it has resulted in some challenges but in no way should this be an excuse for rudeness. Thank you for your feedback.

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