How do you qualify for home visit?

We are lucky that we still get home visits. I was so ill one night and just couldn't leave my bed. Mr Barmey went to the surgery at 8.30 asking for a visit. Low and behold he turned up at just gone 10.30, arrange some blood tests and came back two days later to check on me. Wonderful NHS service and it is the only the time I have asked for a home visit.

I would always go to the drs surgery if possible, unless of course too sick. It’s very hard to get an appointment full stop, they do encourage us to queue up at drs from 730 if you can doors open at 8am, that’s all very well if you can stand there are no seats . Our surgery like many others have a shortage of drs hence limited spaces for appointments

Annepl - It is possible that in the case you saw the mother did not ask for a home visit as we just assume we can't get one?
I don't know if there is a nationwide criteria for home visits or if it just depends on local issues. I had two or three home visits for my husband shortly before he died but not heard of any for people less ill.

We are lucky to get a surgery visit. As much as possible is done by telephone, which is far from ideal. Obviously there is a lot that simply can't be done that way, which just means delays.

Also, if you can get through at 8.00 am (when everyone else is trying for an appointment) you are not allocated a time for a callback, so it might come when you are at work, on the bus, or otherwise not in a sensible place to take a sensitive call. If you don't get through before all the appointments have gone, you have to take your chances again the following morning.

The GPs at my surgery are very good, but the system is atrocious.

The problem is on average a visit takes 4 - 5 x the amount of time that a surgery consultation takes.

Absolutely agree with you annepl a good go service should not have to rely on one man working himself into the ground.

Calendargirl there is another side to it. DH was brought up in a small town where the one GP was bl**dy awful. He dismissed all 'women's problems' out of hand. My DMiL, who had been bleeding constantly for 3 months without her GP feeling any need to do anything about it, finally got on the bus and travelled 20 miles to the nearest hospital and went to A&E. They were totally horrified by her condition and had her assessed and called her in for a hysterectomy within weeks. She was told she should have had it years before.

Some years later she began to have her winters ruined by constant attacks of tonsillitis. Would the GP do anything about it? Would he heck. Then he retired.

The first time her new GP saw her and read her history she was immediately referred to aspecialist, who had her tonsils out within months and she lived healthy and well for 20 years, until her brief final illness.

She was just one of this GP's patients, presumably all had similar treatment. Until he retired he was all they had.

That is true Ilovecheese but it doesn't have to be like that in order to have a better service.

Well yes Calendargirl, but I wonder how his wife and family felt about it.

Back in the late 1940’s and the 1950’s, my mum always spoke about the doctor who was a one man GP in our fair sized village. Took surgeries, delivered all the local babies at home, visited the sick, administered to the dying, did everything single handed. Held in the highest esteem by everybody.
How times change.

No home visits from my surgery. ☹️

Yes. Bloody awful.