From 1 April 2026, patients registered with GP practices in Leicestershire will benefit from improved same‑day GP appointments, available during evenings, weekends and bank holidays. These appointments are part of a wider range of care options designed to make it easier for people to get help quickly for urgent but non‑life‑threatening health problems. The changes will increase the overall numbers of appointments and ensure patients are booked into the right appointment for their needs.
The new appointments will offer longer consultation times and will be delivered across a network of local GP practices and health centres, and at consistent opening times across Leicestershire.
The new same‑day GP appointments will be available:
- Monday–Friday: 6.30pm–8.30pm
- Saturdays: 9am–5pm
- Sundays and bank holidays: 10am–2pm
More appointments will be delivered at local sites across Leicestershire:
- Charnwood Surgery (Mountsorrel)
- The Centre Surgery (Hinckley)
- Castle Medical Group (Ashby) & Long Lane Surgery (Coalville, alternating weeks)
- Melton Hospital (Melton Mowbray)
- Feilding Palmer Hospital (Lutterworth) – weekends only
- St Luke’s Treatment Centre (Market Harborough)
- Warren Lane Surgery (Leicester Forest East)
- Oadby Urgent Treatment Centre (Oadby)
The Oadby appointments are appointment‑only slots delivered at the same premises as the Urgent Treatment Centre (UTC), in addition to normal UTC services.
These appointments replace those previously provided at urgent care centres in Coalville, Enderby, Hinckley, Market Harborough, Lutterworth and Melton, which will close on 31 March 2026.
These are not walk‑in services. People will still be able to walk in at Loughborough, Oadby and Merlyn Vaz urgent treatment centres, and at the Market Harborough and Melton minor injury units.
What this means for local people
When patients contact their GP practice or NHS 111 (when their practice is closed), they will be booked into the most appropriate appointment for their needs. This may be:
- at their own GP practice
- at a pharmacy under the Pharmacy First scheme
- at an urgent treatment centre
- or one of the new same-day appointments during evenings, weekends and bank holidays.
By going through their GP practice or NHS 111, patients can be directed to the service that best meets their needs, ensuring they get the right care first time and avoiding unnecessary waits at walk‑in sites that may not be suitable..
Dr Nil Sanganee, Chief Medical Officer for NHS Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Integrated Care Board, said: “These new appointments mean people across Leicestershire can get urgent help in the evenings, at weekends and on bank holidays, at more locations and at consistent times. By going through your GP practice or NHS 111, you will be directed to the service that best meets your needs, ensuring you get the right care first time and avoiding unnecessary waits at walk‑in sites that may not be suitable for your needs. It’s important that people share their views of the new appointments to help us improve them further.”
Share your views
Patients registered with GP practices in Leicestershire will soon be invited to complete a questionnaire to share their views of the new appointments to help inform future improvements.
Getting the right care
These improvements support the NHS two‑step process for getting help with an immediate health concern:
- Try self‑care first using the NHS App, NHS 111 online, or a local pharmacy.
- If it’s more serious, contact your GP practice or NHS 111. They will arrange the right care, in the right place.
More information about getting the right care is available at:
https://leicesterleicestershireandrutland.icb.nhs.uk/need-help-fast/
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39 responses
When will this roll out to Charnwood GPs?
This will commence on 1 April for GPs across Leicestershire which includes Charnwood
Where is Oakham in this list?
These appointments are also available to patients registered with Rutland GP practices. In addition, a new Minor Illness and Injury Service will be opening in Rutland on 1 April which will be able to see patients from 1pm-9pm, seven days a week. https://leicesterleicestershireandrutland.icb.nhs.uk/new-minor-illness-and-injury-service-opens-in-rutland-from-1-april/
When will this be available at the Castle Donington surgery?
Appointments will not be taking place at Castle Donnington Surgery. The appointments will take place at the locations listed but are available to all patients registered with Leicestershire GP practices. They aren’t just for patients who are registered with those practices.
Lets see if works,not for coughs and colds etc? Good look if it works?
Sceptic.
If you are registered with a practice not mentioned does this mean you don’t receive this service or will you be directed to one of the practices mentioned?
An appointment will be booked for you at one of these locations, either by your own practice or NHS 111. They are for all patients registered with Leicestershire GP practices.
Provided the gp services have adequate support. And consistency with staff. I think this is a step forwards and gives hope.
Where was the consultation with local residents regarding capacity to deliver. The Warren Lane surgery already has over 17,000 patients and we would question their capacity to deliver this extra service. Also the site is very contained and cannot cope with the existing demand for car parking let alone more. There are only 2 disabled car parking spaces and half of the car park is allocated for staff parking. In addition, the local road infrastructure is overwhelmed. Access to site is problematic. A47 is jammed,Tay Road has traffic calming with 21 speed bumps and on road car parking restrictions due to lack of foresight and Beggars Lane is dangerous.A better option car parking wise would be the newly built Lubbesthorpe Healh Centre of the 2 practice operated by the GP practice. Where is the strategic long term thinking? City based, town based and now over stretched village locations for major changes?
Thank you for your feedback. The new appointments will be available in the evenings and at weekends, and are provided in addition to core practice appointments so will not impact the service registered patients of the practice receive. We will be keeping the new service under review so that changes can be made if needed in the future. We will be launching a questionnaire in the next couple of weeks for people to give their view about the new appointments.
Nothing in Rutland?
These appointments are also available to patients registered with Rutland GP practices. In addition, a new Minor Illness and Injury Service will be opening in Rutland on 1 April which will be able to see patients from 1pm-9pm, seven days a week. https://leicesterleicestershireandrutland.icb.nhs.uk/new-minor-illness-and-injury-service-opens-in-rutland-from-1-april/
Why is south Leicestershire medical centre not doing this
Although the appointments will take place at the listed locations, they are available to all patients registered with Leicestershire GP practices.
You do not say how these appointments can / will be accessed?
My GP (in Charnwood) already provides a “Same Day” service that fails utterly. The option of booking an appt starts at 6:30am via the internet or 8 – 10am via the phone. When my mother rang just before the 8am opening with repeat ‘redial’ by the time she was through she was number 31 in the queue. She then got cut off. No call back offered. There is no point in ringing after 10am as one gets the GP’s ‘customer service line’ based in India (which I personally do not trust due to security reasons) who are unable to think anywhere outside of the ‘script’ they have.
I am internet ‘savvy’ in my 70’s but many pensioners are either unable to use this method or cannot afford to. Many of those older than I also do not have access to a mobile and have to pay BT prices which can cost £9 for the 30 minutes I have actually waited to be answered before.
Much as I appreciate NHS Leicesters serious attempts to improve the extended availability of appointments, getting GP’s to improve the existing access to those appointments would also help.
Thank you for your feedback. The new appointments are designed to improve access to appointments, particularly where a patient has an urgent need and needs to be seen on the same day, and they have contacted their practice later in the day on weekdays. The appointments can be booked by GP practices or NHS 111 and are available for all patients registered with Leicestershire GP practices. These appointments are commissioned in addition to core general practice appointments.
I am also concerned my GP will cut the amount of existing daytime appointments to facilitate the extra expense of evening and Saturday appointments.
These appointments are commissioned in addition to core general practice appointments and will not impact the appointments practices will be able to provide during the day.
Excellent news, thank you
Some of your text says this applies to Leicestershire and some say “Leicestershire and Rutland “. Please clarify and be consistent.
The appointments will be used predominantly by people registered with Leicestershire practices, but they are also available to patients from Rutland.
Good proposal but you need to make sure the public should know that appointment are only for URGENT things.
I am a member a PPG and unless public are told the truth they will keep on hassling the GP surgery based on the information
You are going to let the public know. Please make sure your information contains URGENT. Appointment will be available for
the same day for URGENT things only and NOT ROUTINE appointments to see the doctor.
Thank you for your feedback. These appointments are designed for when a patient has an urgent need and needs to be seen on the same day, not for routine appointments.
Are all surgeries offering extended hours? Or just those listed above?
The appointments will take place at the practices listed but they are for all patients registered with Leicestershire GP practices.
This is fantastic news I went into my GP surgery on Friday to make an appointment as you can never get in on the phone and was made an appt at Hinckley Centre surgery for 6.30pm so will not miss any time off work
Can’t see Burbage Surgery on this list ?
Although the appointments will only take place at the locations listed, they are for patients registered at all Leicestershire GP practices. Your registered GP practice will be able to book an appointment for you if a same-day appointment is required.
My GP cannot be contacted by phone, only by email! Will this now revert back to phone calls?
There is no change to the current arrangements for contacting individual practices and booking an appointment. GP practices should be able to be contacted by telephone , using a form on the practice’s website or by walking into the practice. The exact arrangements for managing patient requests may vary from practice to practice.
Another reduction in service for Hinckley area residents.
Overall across Leicestershire there will be more appointments available than previously, with patients able to use any of the sites and consistent opening hours across Leicestershire. The appointments will all be with a GP, rather than a mix of health professionals, and will be longer so care can be completed in one visit. Through GP practices and NHS 111, patients will be supported to get the right care in the right place. As well as one of the new appointments, patients could also be seen at their own GP practice, an urgent treatment centre or a pharmacy under the Pharmacy First scheme.
The new appointments will be kept under review to ensure they meet the needs of patients. We will be launching a questionnaire in a couple of weeks where you will be able to give your views.
This is an excellent initiative which will help patients living in Leicestershire. Access to the process must be easy and prompt. There will be a lot of people who are not internet savvy. Should such people be ringing 111 to make contact with the relevant health service?
We have to give this service a try. Time will tell. Success depends on the response intending patients receive.
Thank you for your feedback. Yes, people who are not able to use online options should call either their GP practice or NHS 111.
How do you actually get one of these appointments?
111 already exists so no change there, and not everyone has online access or posh phones for the NHS app.
What is missing from this scheme is a phone number for people to ring in and arrange these appointments.
Who came up with this idea? patients, Dr’s or ICB members? when/who was consulted?
This does nothing to help people with long term conditions get routine/regular consistency in their appointments/treatment.
You may be booked into one of the new appointments when you contact NHS 111 or your GP practice, if urgent same-day care is needed. You don’t need to do anything differently and should use your GP practice and NHS 111 as normal. People who can’t contact them using online methods can still use the telephone or can visit their GP practice in person. The new appointments will be kept under review to ensure they meet the needs of patients. You can also now share your views in a questionnaire to inform further improvements to the service. The questionnaire is open until 14 June 2026. https://leicesterleicestershireandrutland.icb.nhs.uk/be-involved/sda-leicestershire/. You can call 0116 295 7532 to request a paper copy of the questionnaire.