Panic buttons and toughened glass are normal for receptionists and admin staff at a Gateshead GPs' surgery - and that's the same for most working in primary care around the North East.
Those working on the front desk and manning the phones often are on the end of abuse or anger, according to staffers at the Bridges Medical Practice. Though many patients are incredibly grateful for the help from team members who should rightly be referred to as a "care navigators" - as they play a key role in triaging patients and ensuring they get the right NHS care - that's not always the case.
Kimberley Golding and Sam Annison at the practice explained how a hectic work day of juggling the phone lines with requests from patients and medical staff often goes, and why sometimes they're grateful for the protection of toughened glass and security doors at the practice entrance.
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Kimberley said: "Every day the same day emergency appointments are released the phones always go mad in the morning. When you start at half eight there's nothing but answering the phone. Then, when the phone lines start to calm down mid-morning you're dealing with asks from the doctors.
"No-one takes an NHS job for the money. People come because they want to help people. If someone's calling up their doctors and you can sort something out for them, they can be so grateful. We do get some lovely feedback when that happens and we can help someone."
However, despite the positives, as with other elements of healthcare such as A&E, it is becoming more common for key staff to be on the end of abuse or even threats of violence. Kimberley added: "We do have certain measures in place to protect ourselves. If someone keeps screaming we are able to politely put the phone down. We have a body cam for the front desk area - because otherwise if something's not on the phone it won't be recorded, and I think everyone here has been grateful to have that toughened glass at the front desk at least once. There are also panic buttons on each desk."
She explained that doctors and senior practice staff always look after staff in cases of abuse, but she added: "We have all been called names though, or told that it'll be our fault if someone's found dead. But this time of year things tend to be a bit calmer."
Sam added: "The main problem is that people think we have all the answers and that if they have told us the problem some can feel they don't need to explain any more. We are care navigators, and really we have to triage patients. Sometimes patients don't understand how GPs' surgeries work. People can think that if they come to the doctors they'll wave a magic wand, that's not how it works."
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