Title: NHS Surgery needless discrimination based on assumption.

Source: Young British NHS patient

Date received:  Oct 2018

Details: 

When visiting any public place I use an MP3 player playing white noise MP3s so I am not distracted and made uncomfortable by activity around me which I do not need to be involved in. At my local surgery a receptionist scolded me for wearing headphones and told me to take them off. There was no official notice of a policy (which would not necessarily be legal in any case) and the low volume, white noise I play cannot be heard by anyone else. It is nothing like the thump of playing loud music. I am sure the receptionist became angry because she thought she was watching a young person daring to enjoy themselves and listen to music in her waiting room when in fact I was trying to make my wait more bearable. She was quite aggressive and showed no signs of being willing to discuss and I felt very upset so I left the surgery and made an appointment for another day.