REQUESTING A HOME VISIT
In An Emergency Dial 999 For An Ambulance.
A request for a home visit should be made before 10.30 am, and the receptionist will need to be given a brief outline of the problem.
In the time taken for the doctor to do one home visit he could see three patients at the surgery. For this reason it is in the doctor's and the patient's best interests that, whenever possible, an effort is made to get down to the surgery. This does sometimes mean patients having to wait a while, but efforts are made to see people as soon as they arrive if their condition so dictates.
Guidelines have been drawn up by the national
association of GP co-operatives on when a visit should and should not be requested. These
are as follows -
GP Visit Recommended:
1 Terminally ill patients.
2 The truly bed bound patients for whom travel to the surgery by car would cause a deterioration in their medical condition or unacceptable discomfort.
3 Severe breathlessness.
4 Severe haemorrhage.
5 Severe chest pain (suspected heart attack). Patients who have known heart problems and who usually have a "red card", should dial 999 and request an ambulance. This is important if the pain persists for ten minutes or more in spite of using relieving tablets or spray.
It must be understood that if a GP is engaged seeing
patients in the surgery when an emergency arises elsewhere, it may be appropriate for an
ambulance to be called immediately. The ambulance would be normally ordered by the surgery
in such circumstances.
GP Visit Unusual:
In most of these cases to visit would be an inappropriate use of a GP’s time.
Common symptoms of childhood, such as fevers, coughs and colds, earache, diarrhoea / vomiting and most cases of abdominal pain. Childhood infections, such as measles and chicken pox and patients with rashes, should normally be fit enough to attend surgery. We usually accommodate such patients in a side room, to avoid spread of infection. It is not usually harmful to take a child with a fever outside. These children may not be fit to travel by bus or to walk long distances, but car transport is frequently available from friends, relatives or local taxi firms. It is not the doctor's job to arrange such transport.
Adults with common problems such as cough, sore throat, influenza, back pain and abdominal pain are also safe to travel to the surgery.
Common problems in the elderly such as poor
mobility, joint pain and general malaise would be best treated at the surgery.
PROBLEMS OUTSIDE SURGERY HOURS
The Practice uses the services of the Local Care District to provide cover for
patients who need medical advice out-of-hours. If you telephone the
surgery whilst it is closed, there will be a tape recording telling you the
appropriate phone numbers to use for advice. This will include the phone
number for NHS Direct, which is a general advice service, and also the phone
number for the Local Care District, where a duty doctor will be available if needed. We
would ask patients not to use out-of-hours services for routine medical
problems. If you do require the services of a doctor out-of-hours, then
please be prepared to visit the doctor at the out-of-hours surgery and be
prepared to visit Calderdale Royal Hospital.
If you feel the situation is very
urgent then telephone 999.
What To Do If Someone Dies:
If someone dies, call the doctor, who will explain what needs to be done. There is no need to move the person. It is a legal requirement for a doctor to confirm that a person is dead. Some deaths are unexpected whilst others may be anticipated in view of ongoing illness etc.. If a doctor has been attending, then a death certificate can normally be issued. However in the case of an unexpected death the doctor will need to inform the Coroner.
Help both at the time of a bereavement, and in the months afterwards can be obtained from Calderdale Help in Bereavement. The telephone numbers are 01422 378432 or 01422 357678. You will usually speak either to Brenda or Jill, but you may need to leave your name and 'phone number on their answerphone. You can be sure that your call will be returned, and your problems handled confidentially and sympathetically.