Home Visits

Home visits are reserved for patients who are genuinely housebound and who do not leave the house for any reason, including those in residential and nursing homes.

If you do need a home visit we would appreciate you letting us know as early as possible during the day, preferably before 10:30 so that the visits can be scheduled and allocated to the GP’s.

The GP will visit only if the patient’s clinical condition prevents them from travelling to the surgery and they are deemed to have a medical condition that necessitates an urgent medical opinion.

Age is not a criterion for a home visit, the criteria apply to both older and younger people.

Home visits cannot be undertaken for social/transport reasons.

Patients requesting a home visit may initially receive a telephone consultation from the GP, who will discuss their symptoms with them. They may be asked to attend the surgery as a result of this consultation if clinically appropriate. The GP will decide on the most suitable place and time for the condition to be assessed.

The GP may refuse to visit the patient and offer an urgent appointment at the surgery if he/she feels that is more appropriate.

The surgery will follow these guidelines:

Please dial 999 in case of a genuine life threatening emergency. For life-threatening emergencies, requesting a visit from a GP can delay life-saving treatment.

Examples of such situations are:

• Myocardial infarction (heart attack)
• Severe shortness of breath
• Severe haemorrhage
• Suspected stroke

Patients are therefore advised to ring the emergency services directly.