How to get a same day doctor visit at your home

Most people phone us in the middle of the problem, which is exactly the wrong moment to be hunting for a health card number. None of what follows is complicated, but having it straight before you dial is the single biggest thing that decides whether a visit happens today or tomorrow.

When to call

We answer from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM, seven days a week, weekends and holidays included. Call as early in the day as you can. Not because there is a cut-off, but because a physician’s route is built through the day, and a call at nine in the morning has far more room in it than the same call at half past three.

If you are weighing it up in the evening, do not sit on it overnight. Call at eight the next morning rather than at noon.

What to have ready before you dial

Four things. Having them to hand turns a ten minute call into a three minute one.

• The Manitoba Health card number for the person being seen. Not yours, if you are calling for someone else.
• The full address, including the buzzer or unit number, and anything a driver would need to know: a back lane entrance, a building code, parking that is not obvious.
• A plain description of what is wrong and when it started. You do not need medical language. “She has had a fever since Tuesday and is not drinking much” is genuinely more useful than a guess at a diagnosis.
• A phone number that will be answered in the hours around the visit.

If you are calling on behalf of a parent or a partner, say so at the start. It changes nothing about the booking, but the physician will confirm the patient agrees to the visit when they arrive, and it helps everyone if that is expected rather than a surprise.

What suits a home visit, and what does not

Home visits are for non-emergency care. They are a good fit when getting to a clinic is the actual obstacle: limited mobility, no transport, recovery after surgery, a young child who would be miserable in a waiting room, or an older parent for whom a trip across the city takes the whole day out.

They are not a substitute for an emergency department, and they are not the right route for anything sudden and severe.

If you are genuinely unsure how urgent something is, Health Links Info Sante will tell you, free, at any hour, on 204-788-8200 in Winnipeg or 1-888-315-9257 toll free. A registered nurse will point you to the right level of care, including telling you plainly if that is an emergency department. See what we treat if you want to check whether your situation fits.

If same day is not possible

Sometimes it is not, and we would rather say so here than have you find out at four in the afternoon. Demand varies, weather and road conditions affect routes across Winnipeg, and a visit that runs long for one patient moves the schedule for everyone after them. We would rather give each person the time they need than rush them, and that occasionally costs a slot.

Your address also matters. Home visits cover Winnipeg neighbourhoods and are area specific, so somewhere at the edge of the city may not be reachable on a given day. Check your area, or ask when you call.

When today is not possible you usually have two good options rather than a dead end. A virtual or phone visit is often available sooner, is covered by Manitoba Health, and is enough for a great many problems that do not need hands on a patient. Or we book you the next available home visit. If neither works for how urgent this is, we will tell you where to go instead.

Before the doctor arrives

A few small things make the visit better, and none of them takes long.

• Gather the medications. Everything currently taken, including things bought over the counter and anything prescribed by someone else. The boxes themselves are better than a list from memory.
• Clear a lit space to sit. A kitchen chair under a good light beats a deep armchair in a dark corner for an examination.
• Secure any pets, however friendly. It is for their benefit as much as anyone’s.
• Make the door findable. A porch light on after dark, a buzzer number that works, someone to answer.
• Write your questions down. People forget the thing they most wanted to ask. A note on the counter fixes it.

After the visit you will know what was found, what happens next, and what to watch for. Any requisitions and referrals are arranged for you.