IMPOLITE patients answering their mobile phones while being seen by a doctor were warned they would be kicked out and asked to make another appointment at a practice in Taunton, the County Gazette reported 10 years ago.

Staff at Victoria Gate Surgery, off East Reach, had noticed a rise in the number of patients taking calls on their phones during appointments and decided enough was enough.

A notice was pinned up in the surgery warning patients of the rules in January 2014.

Senior receptionist Amanda Foster said: “People come in to the waiting room and they are oblivious to other people’s space and the fact other people in there are unwell.

“They take phone calls and are generally loud, even though we have signs up.

"Some patients even take calls when they’re in consultations with doctors and they have been asked to go outside.

“Rather than go outside, they just stand outside the room and shout down their phone.

"We’re a small surgery and everybody can hear them on it and it’s not pleasant, so we decided to do something about it.”

Amanda said she hoped the scheme would work, but admitted there had been some teething problems.

“It’s difficult to know what to do next,” she said.

READ MORE: Taunton store refuses to serve customers on their mobile phones.

“The signs are there, but some people still take calls in the waiting room, so we have to point the signs out to them.

“You can get appointments fairly quickly here, but we still make people re-book and we won’t let them have another appointment on the same day.”

As reported in the County Gazette previously, town centre store County Stores had introduced a similar policy in October 2012.

Customers were warned anyone having a natter over the phone when they reached the counter to be served would be ignored by staff, who would serve the next customer in the queue.