Am I unreasonable for expecting CSRs at an ER hospital to be able to tell if an animal is potentially unstable?

We have had a handful of occasions where our CSRs will check in an ER that is obviously unstable and they do not alert the techs. We do set timers to check on ERs within 15 minutes of arrival, but sometimes there’s only one tech and one TA on emergency (staffing is an entirely different issue and I could literally rant for hours) and we’re not able to check on that pet as quickly as we should. I brought this up yesterday at our meeting, suggesting that we regularly train the CSRs on what to look for when an animal comes in, so we don’t waste precious time either calling the back to come check on the animal or letting it wait in a room and just get the animal to the back if they look questionable!

I was told by management that this was not possible because the CSRs are not medical professionals, and we can’t expect them to know these things. We literally see ERs 24/7, how can you be an employee here and not be able to determine whether an animal needs immediate help or not? I don’t think they should be triaging or be in charge of medical details, but I do think they should know what an animal in distress looks like. Some other techs agreed with me at least. I know CSRs have a very hard job already, but I cannot get over how I feel like should be a requirement of the job when working in an ER setting. Oh, and our CSRs are no longer allowed to bring back animals because “they can’t be expected to know animal behavior and they might get hurt” so instead we play this inane game of telephone while an animal suffers in the lobby. Why not teach them basic handling and behavior?

Am I being unreasonable? I’ve been frustrated with this clinic for a while now and haven’t left because the team is fabulous and they are super accommodating. I don’t know if maybe my frustration about other things is bleeding into this situation. I don’t intend this post to dig at CSRs at all, they don’t know these things because management refuses to teach them. It’s not their fault ultimately and they work incredibly hard.

Edit: I really appreciate all the different perspectives here. This might be the ADHD meds talking but I’m thinking about just making a PowerPoint and asking if I can present at the next CSR meeting about basic signs of an animal in distress and clarifying the process to get the animal to the back as quickly as possible. If management isn’t at least receptive to that, I will have to do some thinking. I don’t think it’s going to matter how much I bitch and moan about staffing so maybe we can just improve our CSRs understanding and the communication about this between the front and back.