what are the qualifications of these people to do this?

None! They are NOT qualified to keep you fron seeing a doctor. They are not doctors!! Please don't believe the commented who think this is normal. It is not!!

I'm getting a bit worked up seeing the comments of people that think doctor assistants are very qualified to make assessments of your body through the phone. I will repeat once more, they are not doctors!

If a doctor needs to examine you in person to truely understand your complaint, how is an assistant doing this over the phone?? Its a truely ridiculous over-estimation of one's abilities and this deserves a formal complaint.

I have experienced a gatekeeper assistant that thought her job was to guard the agenda of the GP with her life. She did not understand how serious my symptoms were and that I was to be sent to the ER at that moment. In stead she hung up on me after saying it wasn't all that bad and that a OTC painkiller would be fine.

Not only id it traumatizing to be gaslit by a health care professional, but she was not qualified in any way to make that decision because it is not her job to diagnose me over the phone!!

So OP, make a formal complaint and switch GP's because this is not OK. Sorry for the long post!