Enter and view: Bentham Road Health Centre

Healthwatch Blackburn with Darwen undertook an enter and view visit to Bentham Road Health Centre on 15 January 2026.  They spoke to 19 people.

Bentham Road Health Centre is located in the Mill Hill area of Blackburn and easily accessible for patients on foot or travelling on local transport. 

The practice is bright, clean and hygienic; however, some areas may need review for accessibility for patients with dementia. There is good patient information available in the waiting room and a quiet space is available for patients who would benefit from this. 

The website is informative and the patient information leaflet is useful, but the complaints procedure might be hard for patients to find. 

Patients felt that the staff are courteous and polite and that they had enough time with the doctor, with some lovely feedback about the staff team with the majority of patients stating that they would recommend the practice. Concerns were raised about being able to book appointments over the phone. The practice may wish to consider promoting the call back function to encourage more patients to use this facility. 

There was also some lack of understanding of the opening hours of the practice amongst patients Healthwatch spoke with. Promotion of this within the practice itself and making this more immediately visible on the website would encourage a reduction in patients accessing Emergency Department instead of the practice. 

There was a lack of understanding of social prescribing amongst patients, however all of the staff Healthwatch spoke with clearly understood the role of social prescribing and how to make referrals therefore it was clear that the team would make appropriate referrals for patients who would benefit from this support. 

The Practice has a wide skillset amongst the team to be able to meet the needs of patients and they also link well with other teams to support vulnerable patients.