My log of a home visit.
11:45 AM — Clinic Ends
Morning clinic was done, but there was a patient who needed a home visit.
Reception said it sounded urgent.
“Housebound. Frail. Breathless. Daughter says she’s not right.”
I packed my bag—BP cuff, oximeter, gloves, tablet, notes.
No time for lunch.
12:10 PM — Arrived for the visit.
Rang the door, and daughter let me in.
Patient was slumped in a chair, barely speaking.
Her daughter did the talking.
“She’s a bit confused. Sleeps all day. Legs are swollen. Is it her heart? Should we take her in?”
On examination: crackles in the lungs, irregular pulse, fluid in her legs.
Possibly early heart failure. Maybe an infection.
I opened my laptop to sort out some support.
12:25 PM — Trying to Get Help
I knew what I wanted—bloods at home, a nurse to check on her, some kind of monitoring.
But getting it arranged was another matter.
Three different portals. Three different logins.
Internet cut out halfway through. Came back and the screen froze.
No forms loaded. No numbers showed up.
I tried Googling the services directly.
Still nothing straightforward.
12:40 PM — Doing It the Old Way
Started her on a low dose of diuretic.
Hand wrote out the plan on a piece of paper. Told her daughter what to watch for.
Jotted her number on the edge of a paper leaflet.
Promised I’d try to follow up the next day.
I hadn’t recorded anything yet.
There wasn’t time.
12:55 PM — In the Car
Tried logging in again. Latop battery now at 24%. I'll have to go back to the clinic to complete this.
Closed the laptop.
Opened my phone and dictated a quick note:
“Mrs N. Follow-up. Bloods. Call community nurse. Chase forms.”
Took a breath.
Then drove off to the next.
It’s not the medicine that takes time.
It’s everything else around it.
Thanks for reading.
– Dr. Danial