Home Visiting & Housebound Patients Policy

To optimise quality of care, effectively use finite resources, and to benefit the greatest number of patients; home visits are to be offered exceptionally, not routinely.

We want to offer the shortest waiting times for patients to see a doctor so please bear in mind that 4 to 6 patients can typically be seen by a doctor at the surgery in the time it takes to complete a single home visit. Throughout the development of this policy, the quality of medical care offered by the GPs to our patients has been of paramount importance. The emphasis is that clinical effectiveness must take precedence over patient convenience.

Most patients who need to consult a GP will be seen at the surgery. Home visits are reserved for housebound individuals. Some patients may not be housebound permanently but rather are housebound temporarily as a consequence of an episode of illness.

A patient who is deemed to be housebound when they are unable to leave their home environment through a physical or psychological illness. A patient is not considered housebound if he or she can leave their house with minimal assistance or support.

Minimal assistance would be described as a person who can leave their own home and travel to a clinic appointment in a vehicle such as a personal car, taxi or public transport adapted for their use or not and with or without the use of a wheelchair either by themselves or with an escort. 

To avoid confusion any person who requires a specialist vehicle (Ambulance) or a two-person escort would be regarded as housebound.

To avoid further confusion, a person will not be regarded as housebound if they do not personally have a companion to escort them to a clinical appointment.

Requesting a Home Visit

Requests for visits should ideally be made before 10am. Information about your symptoms will be recorded so a clinician can triage the urgency of the request to visit. A clinician may contact the patient via phone for further information initially. A home visit may be rearranged or deferred at short notice if a more clinically urgent visit arises.

See our appointments page for booking details

Medical Emergencies

In the case of serious medical emergencies, ‘999’ should be called. General practice is not an emergency service and waiting for a visit may delay hospital treatment. Examples (but not an exhaustive list) of medical emergencies are fits that are not stopping, chest pain, severe bleeding or severe burns.

Transport issues for the patient

It is not the GP practice responsibility to arrange transport, or to perform home visits because the patient has difficulty arranging transport. In these circumstances, patients should seek transport help from relatives, friends, car care schemes or taxi firms.

Childcare issues for a patient

If a patient has difficulty arranging for someone to care for their children whilst attending appointments, the patient is are welcome to bring their children to their appointment or consider another type of appointment such as a telephone or video appointment.

Poor mobility

Whilst it is understood that having poor mobility is inconvenient and unpleasant, GP surgeries are designed to cater for patients with restricted mobility. If patients can attend appointments at other healthcare settings, dentist, hairdressers, shopping or social events, then they should also be expected to attend appointments in GP surgeries.