Inpatient wards

St Brelades Ward is a male assessment and treatment ward for men (generally older adults) with an organic mental health illness and associated complex behaviours. The ward accepts patients with dementia from all over Dorset. A highly-specialised multi-disciplinary team works closely with community resources and families/carers in the best interests of the person on the ward.

General contact number: Ward Office 01202 305040

Herm Ward is a female assessment and treatment ward at Alderney Hospital for ladies (mainly older adults) with an organic mental health illness and associated complex behaviours. The ward accepts patients with dementia from all over Dorset. A highly-specialised multi-disciplinary team works closely with community resources and families/carers in the best interests of the person on the ward.

General contact number: Ward Office 01202 305030

General information:

Both wards are based at Alderney Community Hospital, Ringwood Road, Poole BH12 4NB.

There is limited parking on site.

There is a bus stop at the entrance to the hospital site.

The nearest train station is at Poole which is 3.4 miles away from the hospital and Bournemouth Train station is only 4.8 miles away.

This link may help you to work out a journey by public transport to Alderney Hospital moovit - getting to Alderney Hospital

Carers wishing to visit their relatives or loved ones on either ward are asked to contact the ward beforehand to ensure that it is safe and appropriate for visits to take place.

The wards undertake to accommodate as many of the carer's needs and wishes as possible whilst they have someone they care for on the ward at the same time as providing a safe environment for the other people who are there.

Please note that both Herm and St Brelades are wards for people who have an established diagnosis of a dementia with neuropsychiatric symptoms that are very challenging. They are not places to assess whether someone has or hasn’t got a dementia, nor are the beds seen as a place to transfer patients who are nearing discharge from functional wards because a diagnosis of a dementia has been made later in treatment. The Trust has other services that are explicitly designed to offer an alternative to hospital admission wherever possible (such as CMHT-OPs, ICSDs)