Dr Obonna's Surgery

It is not appropriate to request a visit just because you do not have transport to the surgery.

If a home visit is necessary because you are too ill to come to the surgery then please telephone your request by 10am to enable the doctor to plan their rounds. You will be required to speak to the doctor before your request is accepted.

GP Visiting Guidelines

These guidelines have been drawn up by Sunderland Local Medical Committee in conjunction with the Community Health Council.

In order to ensure that the best use is made of your GP services, please attend the surgery whenever possible.

If you need advice you can contact 111

1. GP visit recommended

Home visiting makes clinical sense and is the best way of giving medical opinion in cases involving:

• The terminally ill
• The truly housebound patient for whom travel to premises by car would cause deterioration in their medical condition

2. GP visit may be useful

Following a conversation with a health professional, it may be agreed that a seriously ill patient may be helped by a GP

3. GP visit is not usual
In most of these cases, a visit would not be an appropriate use of GP’s time:

• Heart Attack severe crushing chest pain. The sensible approach is to call an emergency paramedical ambulance.
• Common symptoms of childhood: fevers, cold, cough, earache, headache, diarrhoea/vomiting and most cases of abdominal pain
• These patients are usually well enough to travel to the surgery. It is not harmful to take a child with fever outside.
• Adults with common problems, such as cough, sore throat, influenza, general malaise, back pain and abdominal pain are also readily transportable to the doctor
• Transport arrangements are the responsibility of the patients or their carers.