Our home visiting policy

Our home visiting policy is based on RCGP guidelines.

You cannot insist that a GP visits you at home.

A GP will only visit you at home if they think that your medical condition requires it.

A GP can also decide how urgently a visit is needed.

Due to increasing demand GPs can no longer automatically visit any patient who requests a home visit.

All visits must now be triaged and dealt with according to clinical need.

GPs are better able to assess patients in the surgery where they have access to specialist equipment, good lighting and examination facilities and therefore it is always the preferable site for any consultation.

GPs having to visit inappropriate house call patients are delayed from visiting those patients who are in genuine need of a visit and therefore this poses an unacceptable clinical risk.

GPs are not responsible for ensuring that a patient has financial means to attend the surgery nor that the patient chooses to register with a practice that is difficult for them to get to in bad weather or without a car.

GPs are not obliged to visit a patient if they have assessed the patient’s clinical need on the telephone and found them to be suitable for an alternative method of healthcare.

As long as the GP has provided a plan for a patient (which may be an appointment the same day, a future day, telephone advice or attendance at other healthcare site such as A&E, a message communicated via reception) then the partners of The Paddock Surgery will support any such decision made.