common practice?

[TheOstrich]

Like Kaz's surgery, ours would never consider apologising for any delay, and you are certainly not "kept informed".

MM, I think the main issues here are the sheer size of the practice (12 partners/locums) and the number of patients involved. However it must be said that there is an underlying air there that tends to make the practice administration / reception regard patients as hostiles and vice-versa. Patients get upset (and quite possibly abusive, no excuse, obviously); reception gets very defensive, and one attitude feeds the other. There are now more warning notices about public behaviour and zero-tolerance on the reception walls than publicity posters about diabetes, which says an awful lot in my book ......

Apologies for hijacking the schooling thread!

[miasmum]

I don't think its size I think its attitude. The surgery I go to has 7 partners whereas where I work has 4. Where I work sounds just like your surgery. I would love to work where I go but its not allowed, which is the right thing. It's allowed where I work though.

Where I used to work years ago and where I was a receptionist, we had one doctor, like mine who ran late because she cared. I would always say Dr Davies is running approximately 30 mins late as they booked in and they always used to say "but she's worth it" and she was