{"id":566237,"date":"2026-05-04T20:06:28","date_gmt":"2026-05-04T20:06:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/566237\/"},"modified":"2026-05-04T20:06:28","modified_gmt":"2026-05-04T20:06:28","slug":"melton-mowbray-needs-a-new-gp-surgery-before-something-serious-happens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/566237\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Melton Mowbray needs a new GP surgery before something serious happens’"},"content":{"rendered":"

One petitioner received three incorrect diagnoses before her condition was discovered\"Connie<\/p>\n

Connie Attewell, a resident of Melton Mowbray, said GP wait times are too long.(Image: Connie Attewell)<\/p>\n

A long standing campaign to boost primary healthcare in a Leicestershire town has taken a step forward as residents say getting a GP appointment is like a \u201clottery\u201d.<\/p>\n

A petition demanding another GP surgery in Melton Mowbray<\/a> could be formally discussed by The Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Integrated Care Board (LLR ICB) this June.<\/p>\n

Melton Borough Council\u2019s Sharon Butcher (Independent) presented the case to NHS bosses at a meeting of Leicester City Council\u2019s<\/a> Joint Health Scrutiny Committee on Thursday April 30.<\/p>\n

In submitting the petition, which now has over 3,000 signatures, Cllr Butcher said residents are \u201cfed up\u201d of being \u201coverlooked\u201d when it comes to healthcare services.<\/p>\n

\"Cllr<\/p>\n

Cllr Sharon Butcher (Independent)(Image: Melton Borough Council )<\/p>\n

She told members: \u201cWe are fed up with the eight o\u2019clock dash to get urgent GP access, which is tricky for our more vulnerable and elderly residents to navigate, and leaves those who are successful feeling more like they’ve won the lottery against all odds than simply accessed the NHS services they fund through their taxes.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo more excuses. It is time for the LLR ICB to recognise the pressing healthcare needs of Melton Mowbray and for once, listen to the views of our community.\u201d<\/p>\n

The committee resolved to note the petition, but Toby Sanders, chief executive of LLR ICB, who attended the meeting, said he recognised some of the issues raised.<\/p>\n

Mr Sanders encouraged Cllr Butcher to formally submit the petition for consideration in a meeting of the LLR ICB board on June 18.<\/p>\n

\"NHS<\/p>\n

NHS bosses at a meeting of the Joint Health Scrutiny Committee in City Hall. Toby Sanders pictured centre right. (Image: LDRS)<\/p>\n

Melton Borough Council recently agreed to a deal <\/a>meaning the district will have to deliver almost 400 houses a year to meet growing demand.<\/p>\n

In the view of 80 year old Melton resident Connie Attewell, the town’s only GP practice is already struggling to keep up with the number of patients.<\/p>\n

She said: \u201cI’ve lived in and around Melton since I was 18. The size of the town is growing week on week. Everywhere you go now, you’re passing a new building site.<\/p>\n

\u201cI understand there are a lot of people in Melton, but when you\u2019re left waiting 12 to 14 weeks for an appointment, particularly if you do have an underlying, serious problem, that’s far too long.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere’s a gap between what patients need and what the surgery is able to provide.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s like you’re beating your head on a brick wall. There aren’t any appointments. They’re all booked up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ms Attewell said the delays have caused worrying setbacks in her own health, too.<\/p>\n

It took her six months to secure a diagnosis for diabetic neuropathy – a condition which causes damage to the nerves in the legs and feet and can lead to serious complications if left untreated.<\/p>\n

She consulted four different healthcare professionals across the county, visiting Latham House in Melton, Spinney Hills Medical Centre in Leicester, and the Loughborough Urgent Treatment Centre.<\/p>\n

Before the issue was finally resolved, she was given several conflicting diagnoses, ranging from cellulitis and varicose eczema to complications with her blood pressure medication.<\/p>\n

She added: \u201cThe doctors are brilliant. I’ve not got a problem with my doctor. It\u2019s just getting to see them, that’s the problem.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis situation is firstly putting pressure on A&E, because people are being sent there instead of seeing a GP. And second, people are having to suffer with things a lot longer than they need to.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think there’s something really serious just waiting to happen now.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"One petitioner received three incorrect diagnoses before her condition was discovered Connie Attewell, a resident of Melton Mowbray,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":566238,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[102,2960,89222,183061,89135,194010,104,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-566237","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-healthcare","tag-health","tag-healthcare","tag-leicester-city-council","tag-loughborough","tag-melton-borough-council","tag-melton-mowbray","tag-nhs","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/566237","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=566237"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/566237\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/566238"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=566237"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=566237"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=566237"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}