Concerns Over Urgent Care Centre

People say they are being turned away from the walk-in Urgent Care Centre at the St Luke’s Hospital in Market Harborough.

A number have told HFM they have arrived to be told they need an appointment before they can be seen, which needs to be booked via the NHS 111 number.

Some have then travelled for treatment elsewhere, like to Oadby, Corby or Kettering.

The local NHS says the urgent care service – which was taken over by a new provider last month – offers a mixture of walk-in and pre-booked appointments, and this has always been the case.

They are apologising to people have experienced difficulties accessing the service and are urging those who’ve been affected to contact them directly.

Tim Sacks, Chief Operating Officer at East Leicestershire and Rutland Clinical Commissioning Group, told Hfm: “We are sorry to hear that people have experienced difficulties in accessing the urgent care service at St Luke’s. We encourage them to share their experiences directly with the CCG so we can look into their concerns.

“The urgent care service offers a mix of walk in appointments and pre-booked appointments that people can make via their GP surgeries or NHS111. We expect every patient will leave with an outcome dependent upon their need – either be seen, offered an appointment for a later day/time, or referred onward.

“On 1 April this year a new provider took over the service and changes to weekday opening hours came into effect. We’re monitoring the service and based on the most recent figures available to us, the number of people being seen after ‘walking in’ to St Luke’s is similar to previous levels.  We will continue to review the services and will look into any concerns people raise with us.”