Please only ask for a home visit if it is strictly necessary and the patient is genuinely too ill to come to the surgery.

If you feel a home visit is required, please give the receptionist full details of the patient, the address, telephone number and the nature of the illness. When the condition does require a home visit, please try to give notice before 10:00 on the same day as the visit is required.

Further Information

We are able to offer home visits by the regular doctors working at the practice. This is a limited service and is at the discretion of the GPs. Our visits are performed between 12:00 and 15:00. The practice must be informed of all visits before 10:30. We cannot guarantee to offer visits outside the above time.

Please respect that home visits are reserved for chronically ill patients who are unable to attend the surgery and those patients who are genuinely housebound.

We are unable to accommodate visits on the sole basis of transport issues. We would encourage all patients to have an emergency plan, so in the event of them being too unwell to drive/walk to the surgery, they have a backup arrangement to facilitate this. We appreciate that the majority of our patients understand the need to triage requests for visits, and this is why our receptionists will ask what the problem is. This is so visits are allocated fairly on the basis of clinical need.

FAQ

Why would it be unusual to visit a child at home?

We understand children can become acutely unwell. In line with safest practice, an unwell child is always encouraged to be seen and assessed in surgery. This enables most prompt assessment in a safe clinical environment, where other doctors and nurses are available if needed.

If a child is vomiting, you will be asked to wait in a side room.

Can I book a home visit in advance?

If you are housebound and require a visit for an ongoing medical issue, this can be booked in advance. We also offer telephone appointments for this purpose.

Many thanks for your understanding and co-operation regarding use of the home visiting service.