Response from South Leicestershire Medical Group regarding residents concerns on appointment availability

Thank you very much for your email highlighting the complaints you have received from local residents regarding appointment availability at South Leicestershire Medical Group.

As a practice, we fully accept and acknowledge that there are, at times, fewer appointments available than we would like to be able to offer. We are also very aware of the impact this has on our patient population. We strive to avoid these times where possible, but unfortunately, they cannot be avoided completely, and this is not only a ‘local’ issue, but a national one. Sadly, the national shortage of appropriate funding, leading to fewer GPs, and other available staff impacts all practices alike.

The practice aims to offer our appointments in as many different methods as possible including by walking into a local branch, by calling us, by booking online, and via the AccuRx messaging service (for all non-urgent requests) which is available on our website.

Appointments are offered across all our practice sites in Kibworth, Market Harborough, Great Glen, and Fleckney. We also offer appointments at allied services like walk-in centres and pharmacies across the district when appropriate. We ensure we offer the best possible available option each time we are contacted, working with the limited services that we have available.

We apologise for any waiting times our patients may face when calling the practice. Our patient services team works extremely hard to answer all calls as quickly as possible and provide on-the-day appointments where possible. We have recently recruited a significant number of additional receptionists to manage call volumes and make our phone system more robust.

Our patient population is ever-growing and is now around 25,000 patients. In January 2025, we offered 11,045 appointments across our practice, 5,884 of these were Nurse Practitioner and GP appointments. Sadly, 263 of these appointments were wasted as they were not cancelled or attended. This adds additional pressure to limited resources.

Whilst the practice is unable to comment directly on the local community social media forums, we can advise that if patients wish to raise a concern, they are encouraged to do so by following the practice's advertised complaints procedure. Patients are welcome to complain to the practice either verbally or in writing. No matter what the cause of the complaint, we will always endeavour to offer empathy and understanding when entering into discussions with the complainant. The complaints email address for the practice is [email protected].

Once we have received a message of complaint, an acknowledgment email is sent, and our team start to work towards resolution. Although the regulations do not stipulate a timescale for responding to a complaint, a response is typically sent to the complainant within 28 working days.

Queries can be sent to the practice via AccuRx, which is available to use via our website, www.southleicestershiremedicalgroup.co.uk. Patients are also welcome to phone the practice with their queries if that is their preferred method of contact. Please note that our phone lines are generally quieter later in the day, meaning queries can be handled more quickly.

We would like to reassure you that the practice works closely with our local Integrated Care Board, as well as our PPG to continually review our methods of working, and look at ways we can improve ongoing issues such as appointment access. We would like to thank our patients and yourselves for expressing reflections on this matter. We truly value all feedback we receive. It is from this that we can improve the services that we offer to our patients at the practice.

With Kindest Regards,

South Leicestershire Medical Group