Enter and view: Northfield Medical Center

This is a report of an Enter and View carried out by Healthwatch Leicester and Healthwatch Leicestershire on 1 May 2024 of Northfield Medical Centre, a GP practice in Leicester.

Alongside observations during the visit, the Healthwatch used the practice's text system to ask patients to fill out their survey. They received 193 responses.

The report describes the facilities and condition of the practice as generally good. It is wheelchair-accessible, including providing three disabled parking spaces, the waiting area has a variety of seating options, and the toilets are clean and spacious. However, the report does note the lack of privacy in reception, leaving some paetients to discuss personal health information in an open area.

Patients can book appointments via phone, online, or in person and urgent appointments are available through a triaging system. Patients see booking appointments online as a valuable addition. Online medical requests and a new telephone system with call back features have been implemented to ease patient access and reduce wait times.

Extended hours are available on Thursday evenings and limited Saturday appointments once a month.

A large majority of patients described themselves as 'satisfied' with the practice. However, patients did express frustration with the current telephone-based system for same-day appointments. Patients reported having to call multiple times a day to secure appointments. People shared that they resort to queuing early in the morning to try to get an on the day appointment.