House visits are for house bound patients or patients requiring end of life care. We must make the best use of our clinical staff allowing them to provide the most appropriate care to those most in need. For the vast majority of patients attending an appointment at the Surgery is the best option for them and for the Practice staff. Attending a surgery allows our clinical team to see many more patients in a day than if we are undertaking home visits. A doctor could see 4-6 other equally needy patients in the time it takes for a home visit.
- Doctors are only able to consider home visits for essential medical reasons only
- If you think you qualify for a home visit, please ring before 10.00am or make it clear on your AMGP request, that you are requesting or may require a home visit. This allows us to organise our staffing levels for the day and ensure we have enough resources for the visits.
- All visits requested will be medically assessed to check if appropriate
- The GP will always telephone to triage your request, ensure you leave a current mobile number to be contacted on.
- Please be aware our visits are carried out between busy surgeries in the morning and afternoon. We cannot attend urgent or emergency cases, and if deemed so urgent, you must seek assistance via 999.
- Please be aware after triaging your call, the GP may feel that you require more urgent care at hospital, or via a 999 ambulance. This is not because we are too busy, or don’t want to come, it is because it is in your best interest to get you the quickest and safest care as possible.
Home visits, whilst convenient for patients, actually offer a poorer standard of care compared to surgery consultations. This is because of:
- Poor facilities (e.g. poor lighting, lack of hygiene)
- Lack of records and chaperones (required for safe care and examination)
Lack of transport, Age, or lack of childcare is not a valid reason for requesting home visits and we encourage all to attend the surgery where possible.
