Private GP home visits across North London

Who are home visits for?

A home visit is the right choice when getting to the clinic is the problem. Parents often book one for a child with a high temperature who does not want to be moved. Adult children arrange them for a parent who cannot manage stairs or a car journey. They also suit people who are housebound, recovering from an operation, or living with a condition that makes travel exhausting — and anyone whose symptoms make a busy waiting room a bad idea.

A visit is a full consultation, not a flying call. The doctor brings what is needed to examine you, check observations such as temperature, pulse, oxygen levels and blood pressure, and take blood samples if that is the right next step.

What can the doctor do at home?

Almost everything a clinic appointment covers, apart from tests that need clinic equipment such as an ECG.

• A full history, examination and a clear plan, explained to you and, with your consent, to family or carers
• Private prescriptions sent electronically to your nearest pharmacy
• Blood tests taken at home and processed by our laboratory partner
• Referral letters to specialists, imaging and diagnostics
• Fit notes for work and medical letters
• Advice on managing a condition at home and what to watch for
• A written summary to your NHS GP, with your consent

Which areas do you cover for home visits?

Our home-visit service centres on Palmers Green (N13) and reaches across the neighbouring parts of North London. We regularly visit Winchmore Hill (N21), Southgate (N14), Enfield, Wood Green, Bounds Green and Muswell Hill.

If your address is just outside these areas, call us before you book — we can often still help, or point you to the quickest alternative. When you book, give the full address and a contact number so the doctor can reach you easily.

If you are in Southgate or Winchmore Hill, our area guides explain how visits work there and how to reach the clinic if you would rather come in once you are better.

How quickly can a doctor come to your home?

Same-day visits are often possible on weekdays. The booking page shows the times available for your area, and reception can check for anything urgent that is not shown.

How soon a doctor arrives depends on the diaries and on travel across North London, so booking earlier in the day gives the best chance of a same-day visit. If someone is seriously unwell and cannot wait, treat it as an emergency and call 999 rather than booking a visit.

What should I have ready before the doctor arrives?

A few simple things make the visit go smoothly. Have a list of any medicines the patient takes, including doses, and any recent letters or results to hand. Make sure someone can let the doctor in, and clear a well-lit space where the patient can be examined comfortably.

If parking is tight or the entrance is hard to find, tell us when you book and add clear directions to the door. It helps the doctor reach you quickly, especially in the busier parts of North London.

Home visits for children

We visit babies and children at home with a parent or guardian present. A familiar setting can make a frightened or poorly child much easier to examine, and it saves dragging a feverish little one out of the house.

Please watch for the emergency signs listed further down this page. A child who is floppy or hard to wake, breathing fast, or has a rash that does not fade under a glass needs 999, not a booked visit.

Home visits for older people and care homes

Home visits are a gentle option for older people who find travel tiring or unsafe, including after a fall, an illness or a spell in hospital. The doctor can review medicines, check blood pressure and other observations, arrange blood tests, and write any referrals or letters that are needed.

We also visit care and nursing homes. Let us know the home's name and the best person to meet the doctor on arrival, so the visit runs smoothly.

If the person you are booking for finds it hard to hear, to remember, or to follow a long conversation, tell us when you book. The doctor will take extra time, explain things simply, and — with the patient's agreement — include a relative or carer in the plan so it is followed through after the doctor has left.

What happens after the visit?

You and, with your consent, any family or carers leave with a clear plan. A private prescription goes electronically to your nearest pharmacy, referral letters are written the same day, and any blood results are explained to you once a GP has reviewed them.

With your consent, we send a summary to your NHS GP so the main record stays complete. If a follow-up is needed, the doctor arranges it — at home or in the clinic, whichever suits you better.

Notes from the visit are held in our clinical system with the same confidentiality as a clinic appointment. If the doctor takes blood, the results are reviewed by a GP and explained to you or, with your consent, to a family member or carer you name, so nobody is left holding a report they cannot make sense of.

How much does a private GP home visit cost?

You pay per visit, with no membership and nothing to pay to register. The home-visit fee starts from the figure shown on this page and depends on how far the doctor travels from our Palmers Green clinic to your address. Reception confirms the exact fee for your address before the visit is booked, so there is nothing unexpected at the door. The fee covers the doctor's travel within our home-visit area and a full consultation; the appointment length is shown at the top of this page.

Anything extra is priced separately and explained before it is done. Blood tests taken during the visit are charged at our usual blood-test prices, which you can see on our blood tests page. A private prescription carries the separate prescription fee shown on our pricing page, and the pharmacy charges its own private price for the medicine. Referral letters written as part of the visit are included.

The fee is paid at the visit, by card or cash; there is no online payment. If you are claiming on private health insurance, we give you an itemised invoice and any letters your policy needs — check your cover first, as you pay us directly and claim the fee back. It is free to cancel or move a visit with the notice shown on our pricing page.

When are home visits available?

Home visits are booked during the clinic's opening hours, Monday to Friday, 09:00 to 17:00. Same-day visits are often possible on weekdays, and booking earlier in the day gives the best chance of one, because the doctor's diary and travel across North London both fill up as the day goes on. The booking page shows the times available for your area; if nothing suitable is showing, call the practice and reception will check for anything that is not.

Outside these hours the practice is closed. If you need medical advice when we are closed, call NHS 111, which is free and open around the clock, or use 111 online. If someone is seriously unwell at any time of day or night — the signs are listed further down this page — call 999 rather than booking a visit.

Home visit or video consultation — which is right?

If the doctor needs to examine you, listen to your chest or take bloods, a home visit is the better choice. If you mainly need advice, a prescription, a fit note or a results discussion, a video consultation is quicker and costs less.

Not sure which you need? Call the practice and reception will help you choose. You can also start with a video appointment; if the doctor decides a hands-on examination is needed, they will arrange a visit.

How do I book a home visit, and how do I pay?

Choose the home-visit option when you book online, give the address and a contact number, and tell us briefly what the problem is so the doctor comes prepared. If the person being visited is not the one booking, please make sure they know to expect the doctor. You can also call the practice and reception will arrange everything.

There is no online payment. The fee is paid at the visit, by card or cash, and we give you an itemised invoice for any insurance claim. There is no membership and nothing to pay to register.

When you book for someone else, give their name and date of birth as well as your own contact details, and let them know to expect the doctor. If the patient is a child, a parent or guardian must be present for the visit. Our how it works page walks through booking step by step, and our FAQ answers the other questions people ask before booking, including insurance and what happens with your NHS GP.

Where is the clinic?

Home visits are arranged from our clinic at the rear of Grovelands Medical Centre, 1 Grovelands Rd, Palmers Green, London N13 4RJ. Telephone 07460 466684. Open Monday to Friday, 09:00 to 17:00.

GPLine is a separate private GP practice at the rear of Grovelands Medical Centre, with its own entrance and its own telephone number. Grovelands Medical Centre is an NHS practice, and London Diagnostic Centre is a separate business in the same building. Please book your visit with us directly, online or by phone.

If a relative would rather come to the clinic once they are well enough, our Palmers Green area guide explains how to find us, where the buses stop and what parking is like.

What it costs

Areas we visit

• Palmers Green
• Southgate
• Winchmore Hill
• Enfield
• Wood Green
• Bounds Green
• Muswell Hill
• North London

Questions patients ask