Home Visiting Guidelines
The Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire LMC Sub-committees have finalised guidelines for GP practices regarding their obligations to visit patients at home. These have been drawn up in response to reports from practices about staff in other organisations (such as care home managers or midwives) putting pressure on GPs to visit patients at home in circumstances that are not indicated on medical grounds. These guidelines are for GP practices to use, and we will also make sure that other organisations are aware of these so they can understand the regulations around home visits, and the circumstances under which a GP may make a decision to visit a patient at home. The key principle is that it is always the GP’s decision whether to visit based on the medical need of the patient.