Lightbulb moment about GP’s and how things used to be

[Smellsofbeef]

I’ve just realised that as a child I was never taken to the doctors. If myself or any member of the family was Ill then the doctor was phoned and it would be a home visit. Never, ever taken to the doctors surgery.

I was born in 73 and as far as I know it was the norm back then.
On the other hand, my children who are now in their early 20’s have never had a home visit from the GP, no matter how poorly they’ve ever been we’d always be expected to take them to the surgery.

When did this about turn happen? Or was it just my family that would call the doctor for a home visit?

I remember the local doctor calling on my nana when he was passing! Not even been called, just he was nearby so he’d pop in to see her (she suffered with her ‘nerves’).

Was a home visit the norm back then ?

I don't think that was the norm at all. I remember 2 home visits ever, both times when I was too ill to get out of bed.

A couple of years older than you, OP, and the doctor never came to our house ever. We went to the surgery, but not often.

I was born in 72 and the only time I remember a home visit was when I was knocked down by a car! And tbh I should have been taken to hospital, I'd just been hit by a car!

Our GP came out a couple of times to MIL before she died, always massively appreciated but I was highly aware of the amount of time they were taking out of their day.

I was born in 62 and the doctor came out when I had measles. Generally doctors have visited if people haven't been able to get to the surgery. It still applies and doctors still do home visits particularly in rural areas where getting up to the surgery is more difficult. We are probably a bit tougher on this as we have just got busier and getting across town can be very time consuming and perhaps mean that only one person gets seen in 45 minutes or so whereas the doc could have dealt with three or four at the surgery in the same time. The other big difference in the last 25 years is the use of GP bases for out of hours. Prior to that if a GP was called at night and thought the patient needed to be seen they would have to visit them at home.

I lost my "family doctor" - ok the doctor everyone in my house saw in the 00s.

At that point my house mates were working out how to register with the best in the area GP practice I had managed to join as they had closed their books. Luckily my doctor mates told me what they should say.

I would say it changed in the 80's/90s. DS1 had one home visit in 95 when he was 18 and was sent to hospital just prior to Christmas (asthma) but DD wasn't given one in 96 with suspected Meningitis. I was told to bring her down in 2 hrs. I took her in one with the idea if refused A&E was 4 mile further.He got a shock when he saw her & straight to Hospital.A friend child-minded for a GP and told her. She said it was shocking...then found out it was a GP in her surgery. She was a senior GP, I think words were said. DD was in hospital for 6 days and took a long time to recover with some loss of intellectual ability as she had encephalitis.
When we lived in Scotland in the late 70's early 80's we had no problem with home visits. If the child wasn't infectious and walking bring them in if in bed a home visit. They also liked the run out as we lived five miles drive in a beautiful village.Views amazing. One GP was happy to 'pop' down as he used to check on his yacht. This fact was known by the villagers.That practice was more likely to offer visits than my present English one. However I know my friend 87 had one from our favourite GP last week. He also popped in as he was finished early to check up on friend's husband several weeks after he was discharged from hospital (and death's door) just to see how he was doing. Initially he had home visits every few days but the GP had some spare time between second small surgery and going to the main surgery so walked along to see him. It is what he is like. My friend was very impressed and made GP a coffee.
Luckily he is my GP the only problem is that he is popular but he always returns calls.Even at 7:30pm once and apologised, he sounded tired.

when I was 18 I got glandular fever and a dr came to see me at home and sent me to hospital. I’m 38

I had home visits from the doctor in the 80s when I was a child. I was very asthmatic and would get very bad chest infections.

The doctor also came to the house when I had an allergic reaction and was able to give an antihistamine injection.

Nowadays both of these conditions in young children would probably require a trip to hospital.

Yes born in 63 and had chickenpox in 1970 ..home visit and GP checked a lump on my Dad’s neck ..Dad referred to oncologist and he lived for another 20 years.

Heart warming story alert lol I never had a home visit from a GP but when my mum had my youngest sister (early 90s) the GP came to our house to do her 6 week check up. She was a lovely Indian woman who wore a suit jacket over her saree. Fast forward nearly 30yrs, same surgery, my mums been seen to by a young GP who happens to be the granddaughter of the lovely GP from yrs back. Amazing!

I had a home visit aged about 4 in 1985 for mumps. Unbelievable now!
My brother had severe asthma and was taken to the surgery.
When my great grandfather was dying of cancer at home, his GP would drop in to see him on his way home. Just a very brief catch but I do remember that, must have been late 80s.

My sister is a GP in Norfolk and she does a ton of home visits, often in her own time, geriatric patients, terminally ill patients, care homes, all through Covid, and because she is rural it's a massive patch.

When my first son was born nearly 24 years ago, my GP came round when I got home from hospital - just to see me and the baby.
I had the same when my second son was born nearly 14 years ago. I guess that's just what they did. It was lovely. Husband and wife team in a rural practice.

The only other time was when my back went into spasm and I couldn't move for about 1/2 a day. I didn't have a clue what it was and feel a bit foolish now, but it was very reassuring.

They retired, couldn't find anyone to buy the surgery and it was manned by locums for a few years, before it got sold off and the patients absorbed into the partnership in town (though some of the villagers including myself go to other village surgeries where I have a named GP who cares for me and DS2).

For people who don't drive and for many elderly people the village surgery was such a good service. That said, the 2 GPs worked SO hard, you'd often see the lights on in the surgery late at night.

Born in 68, I can remember going to the doctors with my mum, the doctor smoking and offering her a cigarette, which she sometimes accepted
I remember home visits but they were rare

The only time I remember a home visits from childhood was when my older sister had quinsy and when my Grandma died and my Mum was in bits.

The other difference is that most people didnt have cars and a higher level of sickness was reached before a Dr was contacted.
A Dr was called during my A Levels but not until I was delirious and couldn't swallow the penicillin.

I was born in the early '60s and I only remember the doctor coming to the house to see me once as a child. The rest of the time we went to see the doctor at the surgery.

Some people we knew didn't want to bother the doctor at all, and would leave it and leave it until they were too ill to get out of bed and go to the surgery, so maybe that's what your parents were like, OP.

Born early 70's and GP home visits did happen when I was a child.

Born 1960. My mother talks about a home visit when I was five and delirious with influenza. The dr said if when he came back in three hours, I was no better he would have me taken to hospital.

1994 I hurt my neck when 7 months pregnant and couldn’t lift myself off the bed. The pain was tremendous. Called the surgery who told me to call an ambulance.

1995 when the baby was 8 days old, I felt dreadful. Called the midwives and explained I had flu and was worried about the baby getting it. They said he’d be getting antibodies as he was breast fed. I was much worse by 6. Called the midwives again and spoke to a better one who told me I had mastitis and needed anti-biotics and to ring the dr to catch them and get a prescription. Got an earful from the receptionists who told me the dr’s had been working all day and no they couldn’t deal with a last minute emergency. I was instructed to call after 6.30 when the out of hours service was on. A locum turned up at 9.30 talked mostly nonsense and my DH had to get to the late night chemist at Earls Court by 10 for the prescription - in the days when supermarkets didn’t have pharmacies and there was one chemist in a five mile radius open after 6pm. I was quite poorly by then. Changed Drs the following week.

I never needed the GP to visit the children at home. DS had terrible wheezing/asthma after bronchiolitis at 4 months and we were given a nebuliser and ventolin for it by the hospital. If he didn’t improve we went to A&E out of hours or the GP in hours and they prescribed a three day course of prednisolone. Apart from that he had atrovent and budesonide by spacer.

DH called the GP when I had influenza and my temp was 105 and I was delirious when DS was a baby.

I don’t think GP services are what they were. My grandparents had a family Dr into the early 70s. He had taken over from his father. He visited the house I recall and if one of the farm workers or their DC were Ill, their families would use the phone to call the Dr in an emergency. He always came. My grandparents’ relationship predated the NHS and they called father and son Draper and young Draper both of whom referred to Grandad as Sir and grannie as Mrs xxxxx.

Nowadays we seem to have to go to A&E for anything outside surgery hours and it hasn’t caught up. An F2 does not have the wisdom or experience of a family Dr. I recall gashing my knee badly and my mother taking me to the Dr’s and he cleaned it up and put in 4 stitches. I can’t imagine that happening nowadays.

one of the changes I suppose is that the majority of people drive nowadays.

I am in my 30s and have only ever had one home visit which was 12 years ago. I had blood poisoning and was so ill that I just couldn't leave the house so the dr did a house visit.
I couldn't imagine this would ever happen in the current climate.

I was born in the 70’s and I can remember the dr coming out to the house when I was ill . Not sure what was wrong with me I just remember being really ill for ages and my mum once told me they didn’t know what it was either but I eventually got better.

The dr also came out in the 1990’s to my brother who was ill, my mum had had an operation and couldn’t get him to the surgery so I guess that’s why they came out.

When my mum was dying our family GP popped in one evening to see how she was as he had been passing by and funnily enough my brother was ill that time too so he checked him over while he was there. I always thought that was nice of him.

when my children were born a GP would come out to visit you at home to see how you were getting on and check the baby over, they just turned up, I think it was within the first week or so after they were born.

I was born in 75 and we always went to the drs , maybe one home visit when very very ill

born in 91 and home visits very much the norm. One gp in a small village. He came to the nans to tell her she had cancer but refused a abortion referral for my sister at 17.

I had a home visit on out of hours dr approx 5 / 6 years ago as was ill and couldn't get to out of hrs centre

I was born in 1967 and never had a home visit by our GP. In fact my only experience of a home visit was in 2012 when my mum who had Alzheimer's was unwell and her then GP (whose surgery was at the end of my parents' road) called in to see her.