How do you qualify for home visit?

On Monday I asked for a home visit as the Bodach was having severe pain from spread from a malignant melanoma. The doctor phoned me back, then a trainee GP came out, but just really gave advice on the dosage of Gabapentin. He is deteriorating rapidly, so same procedure on Wednesday, and the ‘real’ GP phoned ,gave him a thorough going over, and told us what I already knew, that it’s just a matter of keeping him comfortable. He’s coming back next week, so it looks as if our surgery is quite good at home visits. They also have one doctor for urgent appointments, where you just wait in turn, so I can’t fault them.

annepl -GPs would be very happy to do more home visits if the workload wasn't so horrendous. If there were more GPs there would be time for GPs to visit but currently time constraints make home visits a poor use of time.

I know mumofmadboys but the government should have ensured we had enough. That is their job. That is the service we pay for.
I know how overstretched our GPs are. I really don't know how they cope with the stress.

I think we need to lower the academic achievements needed to get into medicine a little and put more emphasis on people skills and caring. We certainly need to train more doctors. The present situation is putting a lot of people off from applying.

My mother is 99, lives on her own but is quite frail. A nurse came out to give her a flu jab and then a few weeks later to take blood . We haven’t yet declared her as housebound, which our surgery let’s us do, but if the weather is bad a GP will come out to her.
We have also had home visits when my husband has been very ill I but we always had to go through a triage system where a GP would phone us first.

We are very lucky. We can always speak to a doctor and if necessary get an appointment the same day at the surgery or at home.

My surgery does do home visits but only for the elderly.
If I have an emergency I go to the nearest walk in centre.
I have to wait for up to 4 weeks for a gp appointment.
The good old days have gone for sure.

GP surgery very reluctant to visit my DH. I don't know how I got him to the car, he was half in his PJ's too. He collapsed in the surgery so they called an ambulance. The GP was useless, the surgery nurses excellent. I thought he had died when they said they the could not get a BP reading. He had only been discharged from hospital a couple of days previously. Any way he is still with us, but home visits are very hard to get.

Oh Daisymad I'm so sorry. That is awful. Such a variation between areas.

We do need to train more doctors, so something has to change. What that is, I don't know.

I agree with Mumofmadboys. It would do no harm to lower the academic standards slightly and concentrate a bit more on people skills etc.

I remember years ago the son of our next door neighbour going to read medicine. I had known this boy for years a real academic high flyer, but still couldn't look me in the eye or talk to beyond a quick mumble. I have often wondered how he has fared in medicine.

I don't understand what happen with disabled people?

If you can't walk and don't have a car what do people do?

We have some GP's that still do home visits but how can a Doctor do their job if they don't see the patient sometimes?

Also the terminally ill ? Do they get a visit?

I'm disabled, I use a wheelchair but can't self propel so like many others I go to the doctors just like you but my Son has to come with me. Those that don't have a car tend to have mobility scooters or electric wheelchairs to get around or call a cab. Disabled doesn't mean bedridden.

OK but I have no one to take me and am almost bedbound so no it is not practical.
What do other disabled people do ?