Flak jacket on and coming out of my bunker-We would all like the best
medical care for all our patients.
However until and when I am properly resourced by a government for
"routine" as opposed to emergency home visits I will
1) Look after patients who have taken the time to come and see me in the
surgery and where I have all neccessary diagnostic equipment and support
are at hand.
2)Use the telephone where appropriate to contact patients re ongoing
medical problems (saves 20-30 mile round trips.)
4)Delegate to my practice health visitors and district nurses
5)Be prepared to listen to my practice health visitors and district
nurses (They have years of experience.)
6)Spend an adequate amount of time with my family when I am not supposed
to be working.
7)Watch out for my partners and ensure they are not becoming
workaholics.A partner off sick will create an even greater demand on the
practice even with adequate locum cover.
8)Consider reviewing a patient at home with chronic medical problems if
they are not well enough to visit the surgery and providing they are
happy about a visit by the GP,and I feel that I am providing a service
that the nursing staff cannot provide.
9)Terminally ill patients who have difficulties coming into the surgery
for various reasons are visited regularly by GP and other appropriate
staff after consultation with the patient and their immediate family.
A lot can be learned by visiting patients in their home environment,but
I would suggest that other agencies such as social workers,nurses etc
could equally make valid assessments of requirements.That is what they
are trained and paid for.
Even on the best of days,GPs will not find the time to do everything
they want for their patients and it makes commonsense to delegate as
much work as possible to members of the primary care team who have been
trained for,and have the time for same.
There will always be times when a GP will feel the need to carry out a
home visit for strictly non medical reasons and this is fair enough as
general practice includes such a multiplicity of problems and scenarios.
In this practice we actively discourage home visits by GP as they are in
general,a poor use of a GPs time.
This is a personal opinion only but I believe it is shared by partners
and I would suggest by most of my colleagues.I stand to be corrected.
I have never understood how certain patients can travel to
hospital,spend 1 or 2 hours there,but not be able to come and see the GP
in his workplace.
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