Old people no home visits

[mumda]

We live on the same street as my in-laws.
We are registered at the same GP.
They've both received a letter this week stating they will not get home visits from our GP if they need one as they are out of area. They have the option to change GP or to accept no home visits.

We have not yet received a similar letter.

I'm going to wait and see if we also get a letter stating we are out of area and to not expect a home visit should we need one. If we don't get such a letter, then is it safe to assume the GP is discriminating against old people?

No it isn’t.
There are plenty of times that people in the same household haven’t even had the same letters for lots of things, mostly it’s nothing more than an administration error so you can’t automatically assume ageism.
The majority of people who call for home visits though are actually old people so The surgery is just letting them know that, should they wish to be considered for home visits, then they need to be registered to a surgery nearer to their home.
Our surgery don’t even see people from outside the catchment area, they would give them 28 days to register elsewhere, presumably your surgery has the option to do the same at some point.

How far out of catchment are you all?

No GP's only offer home visits to cancer patients terminally ill and the elderly. That's why you don't have a letter.

Yep I’d assume this - you weren’t eligible to begin with.

NHS is not discriminating against old people but the GP is pointing out that you can't get the same service if you live out of catchment.

Home visits are for the genuinely house bound - even if you are terminally ill the GP will expect to see you in surgery if you still go to other appointments.

I have a number of patients who don't live in their GP catchment area, refuse to change surgery but still moan continuously about their GP. Not the GP's fault you live miles away.

Plus all Community services are based on catchment areas, it's a nightmare trying to coordinate teams that don't normally work together.

You AND your inlaws should change GP now before your care is complex and you start needing Community services.

@AnnaMagnani
I looked up available GP surgeries and one 2 miles further away and in a different area covers our postcode.

They've been at this practice 45 years.

And when I moved here I was told I couldn't register at the nearest practice unless my entire household would register because of two surgeries maybe needing to do house calls. So I registered with the same as them.

There are no good GP practices locally and I wouldn't expect a house visit tbh were lucky to get a telephone appointment 50+ days ahead.

And what's the cut off date for becoming elderly to qualify for a home visit?

Older folk don’t automatically get home visits - they are for people who are housebound.

Age is not the deciding factor for home visits, it is being genuinely house bound.

So not able to go out to the hairdressers is often cited.

I know 20 year old who get home visits and 90 year-olds that don't. Even being terminally ill doesn't count if you still go to the shops.

In which case surely they should tell us too that we are not entitled to home visits.
If I became seriously ill and needed a home visit that would not be the time for me to be made to change doctors.

If it is age related then what age triggers the permission for home visits? And why would they both get a letter at the same time if they are not the same age?

This!

My mum (86) doesn't get home visits but my housebound dad (79) does.

As a 50 something I would never expect home visits as they're the exception rather than the norm these days.

If you became seriously ill then prior to hospital discharge there would be a planning meeting your gp would be invited to to discuss ongoing needs.
They can't letter EVERYONE on their list to tell them they don't need home visits. What a waste of time and funds!

If you become seriously ill then a home visit is not usually appropriate - an ambulance is more likely what you need. The reason for not doing home visits routinely is that there isn’t actually very much you can do in terms of examination/investigation/treatment in a home so they’re often not as useful as you think.

Ah yes @Greybeardy I've leapt ahead!

Gp surgeries are doing less and less and I don't know why. They are mainly badly organised and administration is awful. They no longer appear to care about people as individuals or much at all.
I tried to complete an e consult form recently. It was ridiculous for what I wanted but the receptionist wouldn't let me progress until it was done. God knows if I was elderly I would not have been able to do it.
I then got a text asking me to complete another e consult for an HRT review. The first question was 'are you filling out this form for a child under 16?'.
Waste of time and money.

I did mean terminally ill rather than seriously/suddenly.

I've got some info https://www.nhs.uk/service-search/find-a-gp
GPs covering my postcode
0.3 m Different area
1 m Same area
1.6 m Different area
1.6 m Different area
2.3 m Different area
2.6 m Different area
3 m Same area

These GP surgeries are also nearby They don't cover your postcode (you're not in their catchment area) but some of them might let you register anyway.
0.7 m Same area Accepts out of area registrations (My current GP)
0.7 m Same area Accepts out of area registrations
1.1 m Same area
1.3 m Different area Accepts out of area registrations
1.5 m Different area
1.6 m Same area

1.6 m Different area
1.7 m Completely different area.