Share your views on getting NHS help fast in Leicester City

The NHS in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland is making it easier for you to get help quickly when you need it. As part of this work, we are inviting you to share your views and current experiences, to help improve services further.

The questionnaire closes on Sunday 7 December at 11:59pm.

Click on the logo below to visit our Need help fast? page, which contains lots of information about getting NHS care quickly.

What improvements are being made?

The NHS would like to make same day care fair, easy to use, and make the best use of all the available services by:

Matching every patient to the right care through their GP practice or NHS 111
Improving the mix of same day appointments to meet local need and increasing appointments overall.

Right care

So that resources are being used in the best way for everyone in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland, the NHS aims to match each patient to the right level of care, from the right health professional, in the right part of the NHS, first time. This is known as Right Care, Right Place.

By getting information from you about your symptoms, through your GP practice or NHS 111, an appointment will be booked for you with the most appropriate service. This means the mix of same-day appointment types can be improved over time to match the conditions you and other patients are experiencing. It will reduce the number of organisations you need to contact and avoid long waits or trips to walk-in services that might not be suitable.

How it works now

Currently, if you have an urgent health need (including during evenings, weekends and bank holidays), an appointment may be booked at a healthcare hub, a pharmacy (chemist) or an urgent treatment centre instead of your own GP practice. The healthcare hubs in the city are based at three health centres and provide additional same-day appointments with a range of health professionals.

What do I need to do?

For situations when it isn’t life threatening, there are two simple steps we can all use to help people get the right care based on patients’ specific symptoms.

Step 1: People should try to manage the problem themselves or get help from a local pharmacy, NHS 111 online, or the NHS App.
Step 2: If that doesn’t work or the problem is more serious, they should contact their GP practice or NHS 111 (when their GP is closed). They will help book them the right appointment.

If someone needs to be seen on the same day, they might be offered an appointment at:

Their own GP practice
A pharmacy (through the Pharmacy First scheme)
An urgent treatment centre
An urgent care centre, or another GP practice or health centre (during evenings, weekends and bank holidays)

What is changing?

Same-day services have developed over time and now vary across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland. There are different names, opening times and referral processes, making it hard for patients to understand what’s available and when to use it. Sometimes appointments go unused or aren’t the most appropriate for a person’s needs. For example, some conditions currently seen in the hubs could be better treated by a pharmacy, urgent treatment centre, or through routine GP care. We also now have new services, like Pharmacy First, which allows patients to get treatment and some prescriptions directly from their local pharmacy, often without needing to see a GP. This can be arranged by the GP practice, NHS 111, or by walking into a pharmacy.

The new service will be different. The previous service has been based on general practice appointments in three locations across the city, supported by a range of health professionals. The new service will offer fewer general practice appointments during evenings, weekends and bank holidays, but introduces a broader variety of appointments across pharmacies, GP surgeries and health centres. This means you will be directed to help within your own area where possible, across weekdays and weekends. This gives patients additional options alongside existing urgent care services.

What we’re changing is:

Increasing the number of locations across Leicester where same-day GP appointments are available during evenings, weekends and bank holidays.
Making appointment times five minutes longer, so people can get the care they need in one visit
Ensuring appointments are with a GP, rather than a mix of different professionals
Appointments will now be face to face
Increasing the capacity and use of Pharmacy First appointments across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland – the plan is to increase Pharmacy First appointments to 210,000 across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.

What should I do if I need urgent health care?

For situations when your condition isn’t life threatening, there are two simple steps you can take to get the right care based on your specific symptoms.

Step 1: You should try to manage the problem yourself or get help from a local pharmacy, NHS 111 online, or the NHS App.
Step 2: If that doesn’t work or the condition is more serious, you should contact your GP practice or NHS 111 (when your GP practice is closed). They will help book you the right appointment at the right place for your needs.

If you need to be seen on the same day, you :

Your own GP practice
A pharmacy (through the Pharmacy First scheme)*
An urgent treatment centre*
An urgent care centre, or another GP practice or health centre (during evenings, weekends and bank holidays).*

* In some cases, you might be asked to go to these locations, rather than having an appointment booked.

Other local services

This information is about getting NHS help fast. Click here for information on other health services.

Have your say

To help us continue improving these services so they meet the needs of local people, please share your feedback and experiences by completing our questionnaire.

It’s split into five sections:

Getting the right NHS care in two simple steps
Your GP practice
Local pharmacies
Improvements to appointments in Leicester City
About you

Anyone aged 16+ can take part.

To share your views, you can:

Complete the questionnaire online.
Email: llricb-llr.beinvolved@nhs.net
Call: 0116 295 7572
Write to us at: Freepost Plus RUEE-ZAUY-BXEG, Same Day Questionnaire, NHS LLR ICB, Room G30, Pen Lloyd Building, County Hall, Glenfield, Leicester, LE3 8TB

If you require the questionnaire in an easy-read format, large print, hard copy, or as a Word document for screen readers, please contact us using the details above. We can also help you complete a questionnaire over the phone. To have the information translated into another language, please contact Ujala on: 0116 295 2110.

Due to the amount of feedback we expect to receive, we will not be able to respond to all communication, but we will do our best to respond to any questions.

Key documents

What happens next?

The feedback we receive will be independently analysed and will be used to help the ICB decide on any further improvements or developments needed to help people get NHS services fast and make changes to same day access appointments in the city. We will also collect views from people who have used the service from October this year.

A report of findings will be published setting out the main themes from the feedback and if changes are made, a further report will detail how we have used the information.

All other feedback received will help inform and influence the shape of future services.