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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To think this is a rather strange and stupid rule for a doctors practise to have?

120 replies

BigBadMousey · 31/07/2008 09:29

DD1 4.3 been up all night very ill with suspected tonsilitis. Been sick several times and had a high temp.

I asked the docs for a home visit (she gets car sick as it is and is feeling dizzy plus she would be incredibly upset if she was sick in public) and they said 'no, we have a policy whereby we don't do home visits for children'.

wtf?

I don't get it - seems ridiculous to me but AIBU?

OP posts:

bruxeur · 31/07/2008 11:48

If it's a real emergency then you go to A+E.

The clue's in the name.

greenlawn · 31/07/2008 11:50

A little harsh, ReallyTired? Hardly the OP's fault - your neighbour didn't need a GP at all, she needed an ambulance.

mum2taylor · 31/07/2008 11:52

there are some emergencies that warrant hospital attendance and some emergencies that a doctor could easily remedy or at least put us worrying mothers' minds at rest...if your doctors surgery is on your street then obviously a call out is not necessary but if your child needs to be seen by a doctor and it is absolutely not possible for you to take them out of the house then I dont see the problem to be honest.

EffiePerine · 31/07/2008 11:54

Hope you all feel better soon

bruxeur · 31/07/2008 11:55

If your "real emergency" can be resolved by someone patting your hand and saying there, there - it's not "a real emergency".

EffiePerine · 31/07/2008 11:58

give the OP a break, I am not at my most rational when ill, sleep-dperived and dealing with an ill child either...

mum2taylor · 31/07/2008 11:58

bruxeur any time my doctor has come to the house to see my dd when she was ill I had to speak to the said doctor on the phone first and describe at length what was wrong and let them decide if it was a "real emergency" as they are far more qualified to decide that than me. They obviously thought it did warrant a call out or they wouldnt have been long in telling me where to go...pat my hand they did not Wh

tiggerlovestobounce · 31/07/2008 11:58

Your daughter is able to be taken to the GPs.
What would you say if the GP said she needed to go to hospital? You would probably agree that she could be moved then.
The reason that GPs try to avoid home visits is only partly because of the disproporionate amount of time it takes to see someone at home as opposed to the surgery.
The other reason is because it is difficult to justify having seen someone in less than ideal circumstances. In a house the lighting is often poor, the only equipment and drugs to hand are what the GP happens to have in thier bag.
That sort of thing might be OK if the person really cant be taken to the surgery, but not if they can be moved.

mum2taylor · 31/07/2008 11:59

oops..."wh" for emphasis

AdamAnt · 31/07/2008 12:01

TBH I had no idea that GPs still did home visits at all! I'm afraid YABU.

theexmrsfederer · 31/07/2008 12:04

If ANYONE is genuinely too ill to leave the house, then calling for an ambulance is the more appropriate course of action if they cannot be safely transported by a responsible adult.

bundle · 31/07/2008 12:08

totally reasonable rule imo

GP can probably see 20 or 30 patients in time it takes to do 2 or 3 home visits

plus when we just had PFB with temp, the cool night air would usually bring down her fever on way to out-of-hours GP...

Janos · 31/07/2008 12:21

"Shame on you"?

Get over yourself Reallytired. Why is it shameful to express an opinion? OP didn't throw a strop and DEMAND the doctor come out to look at her DD, she took her to the surgery!

AND then came back and took some quite, um 'forthright' comments graciously.

BBM It is a reasonable rule to have but can totally understand why you would feel it was unfair when you were knackered through lack of sleep and looking after a poorly child. Glad your DD is getting treated and I hope she feels better soon

TigerFeet · 31/07/2008 12:23

aww leave the poor OP be - she came back and said she overreacted due to tiredness. She knows she was being a bit OTT this morning. She was happy to be set straight.

Twinkie1 · 31/07/2008 12:24

Tonsillitus isn't serious enough to warrant a home visit - DD had quinsy once and they wouldn;t even come out for that but they are right - if you can get her there you should being embarrassed about throwing up in public isn;t good enough - although I know how she feels and would be a bit peeved probably if it were one of mine.

ReallyTired · 31/07/2008 12:33

The nhs is strapped for cash. Home vists are for those who REALLY have no way of getting to the doctor or some other extenuating circumstances.

Ie. someone who needs to be certified as dead, someone who is truely dying, someone who is severely disabled or someone who needs to sectioned under the mental health act, a mother who has just had a home birth and needs a GP to do the checks on the baby.

Oblomov · 31/07/2008 12:36

Agree with twinkle. Appreciate that mum is ill too, tired, and dd not well. But it is only tonsillitus. I know it can be nasty. But it is not that serious.

I think we all agree on this one, don't we ?

mum2taylor · 31/07/2008 12:37

PMSL!!! Reallytired I honestly hope that was said tongue in cheek and you werent serious! Can you imagine the conversation "hi I need a home visit from my GP" "what seems to be the problem?" "Im dead"

Oh come on....

tiggerlovestobounce · 31/07/2008 12:38

Why is that funny?

mum2taylor · 31/07/2008 12:39

Oblomov .... agree to a certain extent but if my daughter was being extremely sick and still needed treatment from a GP I would not hesitate in requesting a home visit....regardless of the cause. Sorreeee!

motherinferior · 31/07/2008 12:40

No, M2T, the doctor comes to certify the body when someone has died at home. It is quite a common thing, and is not in my experience a madly hilarious moment.

mum2taylor · 31/07/2008 12:42

ok ... i think i misread her post slightly....i thought she said "if someone is dead" as in your dead so you need a home visit from your gp apologies! I really do think that in any case of sickness of your children you should let your GP decide if it warrants a home visit or not...at least that way it gives you peace of mind that your not over reacting...a GP will not be long in telling you if they think you are just being an over protective parent imo.

motherinferior · 31/07/2008 12:42

Because otherwise carers and relatives would have to take a corpse to the surgery. I do not think my partner's brother, who was on watch when their mother died, madly fancied doing this.

roisin · 31/07/2008 12:42

Totally reasonable.

When my dad died in the middle of the night my mum had to wait about 4 hrs for an out-of-hours GP to come and certify the death, which was very distressing at the time.

mum2taylor · 31/07/2008 12:44

I...MISREAD....THE....POST! Honestly....i do not remotely find having to call a gp to certify a person who has died funny....giving that i was there when my own mother died from a brain tumour two years ago! I honestly just misread the post and apologise profusely.

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