Enter and view: Leyton Healthcare

Healthwatch Waltham Forest carried out an Enter and View visit to Leyton Healthcare in May 2025 to assess patient experience, accessibility, booking systems and the quality of care delivered through the lens of the Four Pillars of Good Care: accessible, competent, person-centred and trustworthy care. Overall, patients reported positive experiences, particularly praising staff professionalism, respectful communication and the quality of clinical care. Staff were frequently described as attentive, thorough and willing to take time to explain conditions and treatment options. 

A major strength of the practice was its multidisciplinary approach. Patients valued the support provided by GPs, nurses, clinical pharmacists, healthcare assistants and the Social Prescriber. Additional services such as home visits for frail or housebound patients, annual learning disability reviews, palliative care video consultations and welfare checks for older patients demonstrated a commitment to supporting people with complex and long-term needs. The practice also benefited from multilingual staff and access to interpretation services, helping improve access for patients who do not speak English as a first language.

Patients generally viewed the quality of care positively but highlighted some challenges around access. While the hybrid appointment system (telephone and face-to-face consultations) was appreciated by many, some patients experienced difficulties booking appointments via telephone, particularly during busy periods. Others expressed a desire for more face-to-face appointments and improved continuity with the same GP, especially for long-term conditions. Some patients reported needing to use urgent care or walk-in services when appointments were not readily available. 

Accessibility was a significant issue. The practice is located on the fourth floor of Oliver Road Polyclinic, and repeated lift failures created difficulties for patients with mobility problems. Although staff implemented workarounds and provided assistance, building maintenance is outside the practice’s control and remained a persistent concern. Healthwatch also identified opportunities to improve the accessibility and usability of the practice website, including clearer navigation, removal of outdated content and better organisation of information for patients. 

Healthwatch concluded that Leyton Healthcare delivers a generally high standard of patient-centred care and demonstrates a willingness to respond to patient feedback. Recommendations focused on improving appointment booking information and continuity of care, upgrading website accessibility and usability, strengthening patient participation through reinstating the Patient Participation Group, improving communication around lift outages and accessibility issues, and installing a hearing loop at reception to improve access for patients with hearing impairments. The practice accepted the recommendations and outlined actions to address each area.