LAKESIDE FAMILY PRACTICE GP HOUSE CALL POLICY

Due to increasing demands on primary care services and an ageing population; we can only provide GP home visits to patients who are within a reasonable distance from Lakeside Family Practice and fall under the following groups :

• Terminally ill patients

• Nursing Home patients

• Bed bound patients

We cannot provide home visits to patients who do not fall into these categories and especially if they are unable to attend at the practice due to a lack of transport.  It is far more productive and safer for all patients including babies/young children to attend at the practice where there is a higher standard of care and the GP has access to medical records and equipment.

If a house call is required and you fall into the groups mentioned above, we ask for the following :

• The request to be made before 10am if possible;

• To give as much detail as possible to the team member who answers the call

• This will be followed by :

a) a call from a GP to discuss the need for a house call or if it would be more appropriate to call Pathfinder/112/999

Or

b) one of the admin team will return a call with an approximate time and check directions/Eir code.

• Patients calling later in the day will be advised of the out of hours home visit service provided by Caredoc (Monday to Friday 6pm – 8 am and 24 hours on Saturday, Sunday and bank holidays

• If more urgent please phone 112 or 999