How do you qualify for home visit?

Yes. Bloody awful.

No home visits from my surgery. ☹️

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.

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

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

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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

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.

Goodness Monica another side indeed.
GrandmaMoira I suppose there is that possibility. But the mother should have felt able to ask. It was a bitterly cold windy morning too.
I'm no expert but the problems others have mentioned about getting appointments are disgusting. And having to tell reception personal medical problems is wrong too. We have paid enough in contributions for many years to deserve better.
You were very lucky Barmeyoldbat

Because my DD has multiple health issues she has frequent home visits. One GP calls in on his way home after surgery. Another arranged an appointment at an assessment centre.
The surgery is 2 minutes away from DD's flat and the GP picked her up and took her there since she also had to attend the meeting.
Couldn't ask for better service.

We don't have any issues getting appointments, we go online at 8 am and can choose from a few appointments at two surgeries. I always insist on seeing the same Doctor so depending on where he is that day depends on which surgery I have to go to. The only bit I have never figured out is some days there are appointments "on the day" and "24 hour appointments" which is next day but some days it's just "on the day".

This is why hospitals are under so much pressure.
More money needs to be put in to front line services.
My friends father is a retired GP, he cannot understand how with practice nurses, phlebotomists etc etc, home visits are so rare.
He was on call 7 nights a month did surgery am and pm, hospital visits and home visits.

Ilovecheese and MOnica

Yes, I know what you both are saying. This GP had a wife and son, the wife had been badly injured in the war, I think was an invalid. The son went on to be a GP like his dad in the same village.
All I can say he was a dedicated doctor, in position after the formation of the NHS.
I think he was a hard act for the son to follow, by then there was another doctor in the practice.

I think home visits are only for extreme cases here. I took my poorly grandson to A & E in a minicab instead. I'm sure that children get priority but still we had a three hour wait.

No, I didn't call 111. I can do without answering 100 irrelevant questions just because it's 'what we do' - I just don't have the patience!

When my son,now aged 30 was 19 he developed what we now know was sepsis. It was a terrible time. He became ill on the Wednesday, phoned the GP on the Friday who wouldn’t even see him at the surgery, but spoke to him on the phone. He was worse on the Saturday. We went to the out of hours service who said he looked as if he was on drugs! Much worse on the Sunday, bellowing with pain. Out of hours visited at home, very, very reluctantly and said we should take him to hospital ‘if we were worried’. We did and he was immediately admitted and started on IV antibiotics. He went on to develop endocarditis and underwent 5 hours mitral heart valve replacement. I believe if had been seen sooner none of this would have happened.

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

more like 10 - 20 x - especially in rural areas. Often a GP must then wait for ambulance, or for care staff to arrive, etc.

Sallywally that was very bad. I think I would have complained.

'A home visit takes more time' should not be seen as a problem. If needed, it should be part of the service. Asking very sick people to struggle to the surgery is wrong and could possibly make them more ill.

I was surprised (and relieved) to get a home visit about three years ago after having spent three weeks in hospital with both pleural pericarditis and myocarditis and then been discharged while I was still quite ill because of bed shortages. I’d picked up a chest infection and eye infection while in hospital and, on top of what I’d already got, was in a right state and like a dying duck in bed. I knew I needed to see a doctor and had made an appointment that evening and was resigned to getting dressed and staggering down to the medical centre but my husband rang the surgery and insisted on a home visit and I got one within a couple of hours. I was very grateful for it too.

My surgery doesn't do home visits. They barely do appointments. Such a shame. They used to be an outstanding practise but have gone downhill so much.

It is not allowed to turn up first thing at our surgery to queue for an appointment. You have to ring in, if you can beat the queue, say what it is for and might, if you are lucky, get an appointment that day, or a GP might ring you.
Or you can book online, up to three weeks ahead.
Recently my husband needed his annual diabetic review, so he booked his blood tests, and GP appointment for about a week later. The surgery then rang to cancel the blood test, so he had to re- arrange the GP. No joy, no appointments until mid January.
However last Christmas when DH got bronchitis, I rang 111, and without too many questions was told a doctor would ring back. He did so, told us to go to a surgery that was open on Boxing Day, we were seen straightaway, antibiotics prescribed, chemist open, job done, brilliant service.
I have no idea whether anyone gets a home visit from our GPS.