Patients invited to give views on new same-day GP appointments in Leicestershire
Patients are being invited to give their views on same-day appointments offered by GP surgeries across Leicestershire.
Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Integrated Care Board (LLR ICB) introduced changes earlier this month to evening, weekend and bank holiday appointments for cases where patients need help quickly.
And a survey has now been launched today (Wednesday) to enable patients to have a say on how it is going and relate their experiences of the new arrangements by completing a questionnaire.
The changes cover surgeries in all the district council areas of Leicestershire, including Melton Mowbray’s Latham House Medical Practice, Long Clawson Medical Practice and The Stackyard Surgery in Croxton Kerrial in this area.
There are now more appointments available, offering longer consultation times with a GP and consistent opening times at eight locations across Leicestershire.
Professor Nil Sanganee, chief medical officer of the LLR ICB, said: “If you have an urgent health need and you contact NHS 111, you may be booked into a new same-day GP appointment.
"A small number of appointments are also available through GP practices on a weekday.
"There is nothing you need to do differently and you should use your GP practice and NHS 111 as normal.”
He added: “We really encourage anyone who has used these new services in Leicestershire county to share their experiences with us.
"Understanding how they are working for local people will help us make further improvements in the future.”
The new service is available from 6.30pm to 8.30pm from Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm on Saturdays and 10am to 2pm on Sundays and bank holidays.
These improvements support the NHS two-step process for getting help with an immediate health concern.
This advises patients to try self-care first by using the NHS App, NHS 111 online, or a local pharmacy.
If it’s more serious, a patient should contact their GP practice or NHS 111 and they will arrange the right care, in the right place.
Go online at https://bit.ly/sda-leics to complete the survey or request a paper copy by emailing [email protected] or calling 0116 295 7532.
The survey is open until June 14.
Visit https://leicesterleicestershireandrutland.icb.nhs.uk/need-help-fast/ for further details of same-day NHS services across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.