RCGP Guidance on Home Visits
"There is a fairly wide-held belief that patients have an automatic right to a home visit from a GP within core hours (8am to 6.30pm). This is not in fact the case.
Practices will reach a “reasonable opinion” about whether to attend to a patient at their residence based upon information received on the condition of the patient, and whether it would be inappropriate to expect the patient to attend the practice premises.
There is nothing to prevent the GP from arranging for the referral of a patient without first seeing the patient, in cases where their medical condition makes that course of action appropriate.
If a patient is encouraged to come into the surgery, it is often on the basis that this is where the best care can be provided. The specialist equipment is located at the practice, tests can be carried out more easily there, and drugs issued." RCGP 2015
Home visits are made on medical grounds only, for patients who are housebound or whose condition would deteriorate by making a journey. In most instances patients can travel, especially children (it is not harmful to wrap up a child with a fever and bring them to the surgery). Please help us by coming in whenever possible as we can offer a much better service to patients at the surgery. The examination facilities and equipment enable a much more accurate diagnosis to be made.
If you need to request a home visit, please telephone 01405 863190, if possible before 10.00am.
East Riding of Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Group have advised us that the following is their definition of 'Housebound'
Patients are eligible for home visits for routine treatment are offered only when a patient is unable to leave their home due to physical or psychological illness as this type of appointment takes much more time than if the patient is able to make it into their local clinic or GP surgery.
Each patient’s eligibility for home visits will be individually determined by the clinician, based on the above definition and patients assessed as not meeting the criteria for housebound will be expected to attend a clinic or surgery setting. Individual circumstances will be monitored and where an individual and/or health care professional assesses that the patient’s needs have changed, the patient’s housebound status will be reviewed.
If you do need to request a home visit, please telephone 01405 863190, if possible before 10.00am.
