Home visits are made at the discretion of your doctor and are usually for patients who are housebound and medically unable to attend the surgery. If you think that you may need a visit please telephone 020 8592 1544 as early as possible. Our receptionists are under instruction to obtain sufficient information so that the doctors can judge whether a home visit is necessary and how urgent it is. Please anticipate appropriate questioning.
Please give your details to reception who will advise you to call the GP at 12.00pm if you have not already heard from him or her.
Please remember that a doctor can see six patients in the surgery in the same time as one house-call. On occasions the doctor will need equipment only available in the surgery. In view of this please make every effort to get to the surgery using help from a relative, neighbour or taxi if necessary.
Examples of appropriate GP Home Visit
GP home visits may be the best way of giving a medical opinion in cases involving:
- The terminally ill patient
- The truly bed-bound patient, for whom travel to premises by car would cause deterioration in their medical condition or unacceptable discomfort.
A GP home visit is not usual
In most cases with some exceptions mentioned above, a home visit would not be considered appropriate use of a GP’s time:
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Common symptoms of childhood: fevers, cold, coughs, earache, headache, diarrhoea /vomiting and most cases of abdominal pain. These patients are usually well enough to travel to the surgery. It is not harmful to take a child with a fever outside. The practice is not responsible for arranging transport for patients to travel to the surgery.
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Adults with common problems, such as a cough, sore throat, influenza, back pain and abdominal pain are able to come to the surgery.
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Common problems in the elderly, such as poor mobility, joint pain and general malaise will also be seen by appointment at the surgery.