'Stop complaining!' Fed-up GP receptionist rants at patients she says waste GP's time so they can get free prescriptions and spend their own cash on cigarettes
A frustrated GP receptionist has claimed that patients should stop wasting doctors' time with minor headaches and buy painkillers over the counter, 'instead of a pack of cigarettes'.
Rose Baker, 24, from Sheffield, urged 'moaning' patients to 'take a second to think before you s*** us all off' and complain about waiting times.
Rose suggested patients should not book to see their GP if they have 'a bit of a cold', adding that they 'should spend 15p on over the counter paracetamol instead of a pack of 20 sterling dual cigarettes'.
She said she had to take to social media after witnessing disgruntled patients criticising the 'failing NHS' and not being able to get appointments at 8am.
The 24-year-old also responded to patients who criticise her for asking why they need to see a doctor. She said: 'Quite frankly I could really do without knowing you've got thrush.
Rose, who has asked for the surgery where she works not to be named, posted her argument on Facebook which has since gone viral, with over 7,000 shares and 8,000 likes.
The post from earlier this month read: 'STOP complaining about your GP surgeries, it's becoming more and more of a thing I see in a morning on Facebook and as a GP receptionist it's absolutely infuriating.
'You can't get through to your doctors when it opens? Yeah that's because GP surgeries have up to 12,000 patients in some cases, and, heaven forbid, imagine if every single one of those patient was poorly and wanted to be seen at 8am.
'Doctors can only see a certain amount of people in a session, that's for the care and safety of the patient, because again, heaven forbid, your already stressed over worked doctor had to see double the amount of patients in a morning, imagine what could happen?.
'Something could be missed, something could be wrongly prescribed.
It's not that doctors don't want to see patients and they don't want to work, they see the top limit of patients they can see per session because that's all they are allowed to do!'.
She continued her rant by criticising patients who think receptionists are being nosy or rude when they ask why they need to see a doctor. Rose said: '''Why's the receptionist asking me what I need to be seen for?'' FUNNY THAT ONE.
'We're not being rude, or nosy, because quite frankly I could really do without knowing you've got thrush or that you've got a cyst in your groin that's going a bit funny and is starting to smell, but we have to ask because we're TOLD too by the GP you're so desperate to see.
'Again, but why? Because contrary to popular belief, you don't always need to see a doctor if you're poorly, and if you've been knocked off your motorbike and you're bleeding profusely from every hole in your body, A&E is probably better than sitting in a GP reception.
'We HAVE TO care navigate you, to the chemist, to the walk in centre, the A&E, to the dentist! It's our job.
'Just take a second to think before you slag us all off and say how much the NHS is failing and going down hill.
'If you've got a bit of a cold and you're taking up a doctors appointment rather than managing it at home or going to the chemist and buying some paracetamol over the counter for 15p because you want it for free and would rather spend that 15p putting it towards your pack of 20 sterling dual, you're part of the problem as well.
Rose, who later removed the reference to cigarettes, has since said patients needed to learn a bit about 'self care' and the different options available to them when they fall ill.
She added: 'On that morning I posted it, I had just seen about four or five stories from other people complaining about the GPs and not being able to get an appointment.
'I just got to the point where I was tired of seeing it everyday so I went on a bit of a rant. I never expected what has happened to happen.
'I spoke to the GPs about it and they said to leave it up because people needed to know. The receptionist earned a lot of support after her post went viral.
One person commented: 'I genuinely believe that you'd get 50% fewer people going through the doors too if people actually made a conscious effort to eat like adults and actually do some form of exercise daily.
Another person wrote: 'Totally agree, I also don’t really see the issue with telling a receptionist what’s wrong with you. An arguement from past experience I know not everyone agrees but hey ho.'.
A third said: 'Well said Rose! Smashed it on head there girl. Doctors I've gone to work their arses off trying to get through people as quickly as they can.'. However, not everyone was complimentary towards the receptionist.
One person took to Twitter to comment: 'Saw this viral post and found it funny. The receptionist at my GP said they don’t see people for a mild cough when I asked for an appointment.
'Went to A&E instead, & sure enough, my 2 month cough was pneumonia. NHS receptionists are not doctors & should not make medical decisions.'.
Chief Executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, John O'Connell, said it was 'deeply concerning' that taxpayers and patients are experiencing long waiting times at the NHS.
'Too often taxpayers' money is thrown at the NHS without any thought given to the long-term solutions,' he said. HOW MANY PATIENTS HAVE TO WAIT LONGER THAN TWO WEEKS TO SEE THEIR GP?.
5million patients were unable to see their GP within two weeks during December, NHS statistics showed. Of those, 950,000 were forced to endure waits of at least 28 days. A further one million had to wait at least three weeks.
More than a quarter of patients in the NHS Swindon CCG area did not see a doctor until at least 21 days after they had booked an appointment.
In comparison, just 7. 55 per cent of patients who attended surgeries overseen by NHS Dartford, Gravesham and Swanley CCG endured similar waits.
Health leaders slammed the figures as being 'extremely concerning' and warned access to a GP 'must not be dependent on where a patient lives'.
MailOnline analysed NHS Digital figures to name and shame the 10 areas of England that had the worst records for seeing patients within two weeks.