The Limes Medical Centre 2015-07-05 Person 2 5 0

made my comments last week about the Limes Medical Centre at Narborough but they have not been placed on screen to be read so i am writing them again. Last week i called at the medical centre to book an appointment to have a blood test done on 3rd August this year (giving 5 weeks notice about it.) The receptionist said right the week commencing the 3rd August. I said no Monday the 3rd as it is needed prior to hospital appointment the next day. I was told there is only one appointment left that day at 8am when asked if not later ones she said i can give you Friday. I said i have to have it on the Monday so I said if 8am is all there is i will take it. This incident brings me to make the following comment. When Doctor Prowse retired in January this year he wrote a letter to the Narborough Journal thanking all for their well wishes etc and that he has left the Limes in a good state with 15000 patients on their books. What may i ask is a village practice doing with 15000 patients, the size/population of Market Harborough. Its a ridiculous situation and shows the reason why no one can get appointments when they actually need it and are told there is anything from 3 to 5 weeks wait to see your own doctor if you are lucky. Yes i say, see your own doctor, not the first one that is free which ends up seeing all and sundry, and not having continuation with one particular GP. 15000 patients gives a ratio for 6 doctors i believe is the regular staff of 1 to 2500 patients and even higher when doctors are on leave, sick, elsewhere for a day or even involved in other practices. Having these problems may well be the reason why on the waiting room notice board (the lit up one) it shows how many doctors/nurses appointments have been missed for whatever month is shown. I have yet to see these figures below a 100 for doctors and also for nurses. This is probably because people are so fed up not getting an appointment when they need it that they book appointments in advance in case they need it and if they dont need the appointment dont cancel them leaving a lot of unused appointment times. A serious review of this situation is needed and the problem of the amount of patients on your books sorted. Just talking with friends and aquaintences and listening to them complaining about the same things i have put above shows that there are an awful lot of disgruntled patients on the books of The Limes Medical Centre.