"​A very positive step forward” – Dorset HealthCare’s response to the Clinical Services Review decisions

The NHS Dorset CCG Governing Body has approved the recommendations on the Clinical Services Review and Mental Health Acute Care Pathway Review. These decisions will set the strategic blueprint for healthcare in Dorset for the next five to ten years, and the new arrangements will transform the way Dorset HealthCare delivers its services.

Trust Chief Executive Ron Shields said:

“We fully support the ambition for high quality, integrated community services for the people of Dorset, and welcome the CCG’s decisions as a very positive step forward.

“Creating community hubs, where physical and mental health services work closely together, will lead to better outcomes for our patients and those around them. In many parts of Dorset we are already supporting people to stay in their own homes and to live independently, where they may have previously needed to stay in hospital.

“In many cases a hospital bed is not the right place for people who are more frail and elderly and moving to more integrated community services will give us greater flexibility in meeting people’s individual needs. Having multi-skilled teams based out in the community, working more closely with colleagues in social care, is undoubtedly the way forward.

“The decisions are also very positive for the future of mental health services in Dorset and a commitment to delivering the very best quality of care. They are innovative, ambitious and a significant improvement on the current arrangements, based on what service users have told us they need.

“These decisions will take time to implement, phased over a five-year period, and the detail needs to be worked through – with our staff and local communities fully involved in that process. There will be no immediate, radical changes to the way we deliver our services, but a carefully managed transition period.”