Learn more about NHS service changes in West Dorset

Two public drop-in events in Bridport will outline how the relocation of some NHS day services to Dorchester will help reduce waiting times and improve services for patients.

Clinicians from Dorset County Hospital (DCH) currently provide procedures at Bridport Hospital for the treatment of kidney stones (lithotripsy) and a diagnostic investigation of the bladder (cystoscopy).

However, moving the services to DCH, in Dorchester, will allow specialists to see more patients and provide more comprehensive care with the latest, state-of-the-art equipment.

General surgery and vasectomy services will continue at Bridport Hospital – run by Dorset HealthCare – alongside a range of other outpatient procedures.

Local people can find out more about the changes, and comment on how they could be affected, at two upcoming events:

• Tuesday, 5 March – 2-4pm, The Bull Hotel, East Street.
• Wednesday, 20 March – 6-8pm, Bridport venue (tbc)

Alongside lithotripsy and cystoscopy, gastroscopy services (where clinicians use endoscopes to look inside patients’ stomachs) will also be based at DCH. They were temporarily moved from Bridport last April and patients have been benefitting from an enhanced service. Making this change permanent will ensure certainty for patients and staff.

Dorset County Hospital’s Chief Operating Officer Inese Robotham said: “We want to emphasise that there will be no reduction to any services, this is a change of location only. Furthermore, relocating some of the services to DCH will allow our clinicians to treat more patients with the most up to date equipment and will have a significant positive impact on waiting times.”

Dorset HealthCare also plans to relocate Musculo-Skeletal (MSK) service list from Bridport to Blandford, making it more accessible to more patients and so providing a pan-Dorset service.

Karen Fisher, Dorset HealthCare’s Locality Manager for Mid and West Dorset, said: “These relocations will enhance the services we provide for patients. And a wide range of services will continue to be provided at Bridport Hospital, which was identified as one of the county’s key community health and care ‘hubs’ in the recent Clinical Services Review.”

Local GPs, patient participation groups and hospital Leagues of Friends have been contacted about the changes, which will also be considered by the Dorset Health Scrutiny Committee.