Leicestershire Patients Have ‘Most Difficulty’ Contacting Their GP

People in Leicestershire have the most difficulty contacting their GP compared to anywhere else in the country according to a new NHS survey.

Over 45% of those polled said it was ‘difficult or very difficult’ while some who got through to their surgery were told to call back on another day.

Among those people who told the survey they had contacted their surgery successfully, 60.9% said they had done so by telephone and speaking to a member of staff, 20.6% did so online through a GP practice website or app, 12.5% said they had done so in person and 4.5% said they had done so using the NHS website or app.

Some 50.6% said they were given an appointment or assessment within two weeks of making contact, 18.3% received what they needed online or by telephone, 11.9% were given an appointment or assessment over two weeks later, while 5.3% were told to make contact again another day as the surgery could not help that day.

A further 2.7% said their next step was to go to a pharmacy while 0.5% said the next thing they did was seek urgent treatment including A&aE or 999 services.

The national survey took place in January and had responses from around 90,000 patients aged 16 and over.

The local NHS says it’s working closely with practices to help them meet demand and make it easier for patients to contact them.

A spokesperson for Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Integrated Care Board, which overseas GP provision, told HFM: “Demand for primary care is higher than ever before and we appreciate that it can be frustrating for patients trying to contact their GP practice.

“We are working closely with our practices to help them meet the demand and to make it easier for patients to contact them.

“Our practices are also offering more appointments than before, and in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland we offer more appointments for every 1,000 patients than any other area in the Midlands.

“To help people get the care they need there is now a range of options for accessing health services, they can see their community pharmacist for many common health problems and they can get advice at any time via NHS111 and the NHS app.