The GP surgery is the first point of contact with the National Health Service in the UK for the majority of those who use it. The receptionists who work at the front desk play an important part in the administration of GP practices: registering and checking-in patients, organising appointments and patient records, processing repeat prescriptions and issuing test results. In this paper, which is based on data recorded at two GP practices in the Lothian area, I describe some of the verbal means which receptionists use to accomplish their work.
After briefly outlining the background to the study, I go on to consider in some detail the opening sequences of face to face encounters, in which receptionists offer service and patients state their business. I find that, while all receptionists use a limited set of speech routines in these interactions, each has a recognisable individual style. I also show that small variations in lexical and grammatical choice can lead to different outcomes and may have a significant impact on patient perceptions of the service which they receive.