Enter and view: Pasley Road Medical Centre

Healthwatch Leicester and Healthwatch Leicestershire undertook an announced enter and view visit to Pasley Road Medical Centre on 15 December 2025.  They received 137 responses to a survey.

Overall, the practice operates from a single-storey, accessible building with step-free entry, clear signage, and appropriate facilities, including accessible toilets and a hearing loop. The environment was observed to be clean, calm, and welcoming, with a spacious waiting area, adequate seating, and useful patient information displayed. Reception staff were seen to manage patients efficiently, and privacy could be provided when needed.

The practice serves over 2,000 patients using a small clinical team of two GPs and one nurse, and offers a range of appointment booking methods, including online, telephone, in person, and a call-back system. While patients can request specific clinicians or appointment types, this is limited by staff availability. Additional services include support for patients with extra needs, home visits following telephone triage, and access to test results through digital apps. 

Patient feedback highlighted key challenges with access to appointments. Many patients reported long telephone waiting times, with some waiting up to an hour or more to get through. A high proportion of patients had tried to book same-day appointments, but only a minority were successful, with many being asked to call back later or not offered appointments at all. 

Despite access issues, patient satisfaction was generally more positive once care was received. Most respondents rated reception services and face-to-face appointments as good or excellent, and over half rated the quality of medical care positively. However, the telephone system received poorer ratings overall, and feedback frequently criticised the use of an external call centre, which patients felt reduced communication quality and continuity of care. 

Key themes from patient comments included difficulty booking appointments, frustration with the call centre system, and a lack of continuity due to seeing different clinicians. Patients also reported issues with repeat prescriptions and occasional confusion around appointments or communication. 

The report identifies funding and limited space as major challenges for the practice, which operates from rented rooms and must manage demand within constrained resources. 

Recommendations include improving appointment access and telephone systems, routing calls back to the local practice where possible, increasing same-day appointment availability, improving continuity of care by enabling patients to see the same clinician, and expanding online booking options.