GPs vote to reduce patient home visits
If this change is implemented I have no doubt it will have a major impact on rural dwellers who are old, isolated and vulnerable. The article tells us:
GPs have voted to reduce visits to patients’ homes, saying they “no longer have the capacity” to offer them.
Doctors supported the proposal at a meeting of English local medical committees in London on Friday.
It means British Medical Association (BMA) representatives will lobby NHS England to stop home visits being a contractual obligation.
However, the plans face opposition from Health Secretary Matt Hancock and the Royal College of GPs (RCGP).
Mr Hancock said taking home visits out of GPs’ contracts is a “complete non-starter”.
RCGP chair Professor Martin Marshall said home visits should be used wisely but insisted they are a “core part” of general practice.
An NHS spokeswoman said GPs would still visit patients at home where there was a clinical need to do so.
According to NHS Digital, in one month in 2018, GPs in England made 238,579 home visits out of a total of 27,084,027 appointments.