Home Visits
Our GP Practice is keen to ensure that we provide you the best care and make the best use of our clinical team to do just that. We aim to provide the most appropriate care to those most in need of it. For the vast majority of patients, attending an appointment at the Practice or consulting over the telephone where appropriate, is the best option for them and most efficient and fair use of our clinical team.
There are many times when a home visit by a GP is not the best option. While home visits can be convenient for the patient, they actually offer a poorer standard of care compared to surgery consultations.
This is because of:
- poorer facilities – for example, soft beds, poor lighting or reduced hygiene measures compared to consulting rooms
- inefficiency and reduced equity and appointments overall – the doctor could see four to six other poorly patients in the time taken for one home visit
- patient records, which are required to provide appropriate and safe care, are not immediately or easily available in the home; and
- patient chaperones, who are required to be present for some examinations, are not always available.
We have noticed an increase in requests for home visits that are inappropriate or unnecessary. This is having a negative impact on other aspects of our service which can lead to reduced appointments overall. We have made this information to update our registered patients on how home visits are delivered within our service so that care is fair and appropriate.
Where home visits are appropriate
- Terminally ill patients: we will always seek to visit those in most clinical need
- Bedbound patients: similar to our District Nursing colleagues, we will make every effort to visit our bedbound patients in a timely manner
- Somebody is so poorly they could be harmed if moved: occasionally patients are so unwell, of any age group, that assessing them at home is safest, and in these instances it is likely hospital admission will be needed.
Some common myths about home visits
Please note this list only includes some examples and is not exhaustive.
- Lack of money, transport or difficulty getting taxis. We recognise that this is a very real and difficult problem for some of our population. We would ask you to organise with family, friends or neighbours help in getting to your surgery appointment similar to your hospital appointments, as this is not a medical responsibility that the surgery can help with.
- Reduced mobility, such as requiring a walking frame or wheelchair. For those that are mobile enough to leave their house, so are not bedbound, and can get to hospital appointments, shopping, hairdressing, visiting family/friends, we require that you also do the same to visit your surgery, so we can offer you and our other patients the best and timely care. In these instances we will always seek to make your visits streamlined so that activities like blood tests, dressings or GP and nurse consultations can all happen on the same visit. Please speak to us about this when arranging appointments.
- Under the GP terms of service, it is up to the consulting doctor to decide where a consultation should most appropriately take place. It is not a service right for a home visit.
GPs are required to consider home visits for medical reasons only. If you think you require a home visit, please call the surgery before 11am. All home visit requests will be medically assessed to check if a visit is appropriate. Home visits need to be competed in the lunch time between morning and afternoon surgeries so they are very carefully prioritised to be able to sustainably and fairly offer care to all our registered population.
Always provide a current mobile number/landline so that the Doctor or Nurse can contact you.
