When should I ask the doctor to visit me at home?

The Patients' Charter for Highcliffe Medical Centre aims to treat you as a partner in the medical care that you receive. Therefore, we undertake to visit you at home if you are too ill or infirm to be brought to the surgery.

This partnership is a two-way process that can only work with your total cooperation. It requires that you do not call the doctors to your home simply because this is more convenient than attending an appointment or requesting a telephone consultation.

Please do not ask for a home visit unless it really is essential because the time that the doctors spend travelling each day could be used for the benefit of patients in the surgery. On average, one home visit takes as much doctor-time as seeing 3 - 4 patients in the surgery.

The GPs are all aware that many Highcliffe residents have medical needs that dictate that a Home Visit is necessary. This makes it even more necessary that their time is used efficiently since the doctors and district nurses already shoulder a very considerable daily demand to visit patients in their homes.

You can help the Medical Team to give of their best for our community by taking these actions prior to requesting a Home Visit:  Ask yourself whether the matter could be addressed at the Surgery.

If the answer is Yes

1. Please endeavour to make an appointment, even if this involves reliance upon taxis, public transport or neighbours. Most friends and neighbours are only too pleased to assist if you ask them to, just as you would help them in similar circumstances.

2. Please consider whether a telephone conversation with the nurse or doctor would answer your questions. This is often appropriate for general queries and follow-up consultations and it avoids spending your valuable time sitting in the Surgery. You can phone the surgery and request a telephone consultation with the doctor who will call-back later that day.

3.  If you think that your child is very poorly such that a home visit is necessary, remember that your sick child will always see the doctor sooner if you first phone to speak to the secretaries who will alert the duty doctor who will usually be able to see him/her promptly at the Surgery.

Remember that there is a children's clinic every day from 4.00 - 4.30pm. Just phone 272203 for your child to see the GP at the daily Walk-In Children's Clinic.

If the answer is No

1. Please make your request for a Home visit between 08.30 & 10.00am wherever possible. This allows the doctors to plan the visits for the day. Late calls often cannot be accommodated until late in the day owing to the doctors' other patient commitments.

2.  Remember that the Surgery Hours are 08.30 to 18.30.  Please do not call out of hours except in real emergencies. Whenever possible it is best to wait for the next surgery and see your own medical team.

When to Call an Ambulance:
dial 999 and request an Ambulance

Chest Pain
Collapse
Person Unconscious
Serious breathing difficulties
Profuse bleeding

May I express our thanks to everyone for co-operating and helping to improve the availability of doctors to visit you when it really is necessary.