Our clinicians will assess and consider how they respond to visit requests in a timely manner, this is likely to involve telephone triage in advance to get further information to make an informed decision about whether a visit is appropriate and whether any emergency care is required. E.g. A patient with chest pain and difficulty breathing will be redirected to 999 emergency response, and would not be appropriate to wait for a home visit at the end of a routine surgery.

One of the most common reasons for a home visit request is due to lack of transport rather than due to a patient’s medical condition. NHSE is clear that it is not Foxhill Medical Centre’s responsibility to arrange transport or to visit a patient at home because the patient has difficulty arranging transport. Patients will be encouraged to seek help with transport from relatives, neighbours, friends or taxi firms.

Children should be brought to the surgery by a parent or responsible adult. If a home visit is requested then more information will be sought via telephone as to the nature of the problem. Difficulty sorting out childcare is sometimes sited as a reason to request a home visit. This is not clinically appropriate; the patient may bring their children to the practice rather than miss their appointment or request a visit for this reason.

For further information, please see our Housebound Patient Policy