CHECK your change carefully when you visit Dorset's community hospitals over the next few weeks.

Because that shiny new 10p could be very special indeed.

Dorset HealthCare is one of just two trusts in the south west to partner with The Royal Mint for the release of a limited number of special ‘NHS’ design 10p coins.

The ‘N’ coins, marking the NHS’s 70th birthday and part of an A-Z collection of all things British, will be available in Dorset in the restaurants at Poole's Alderney Hospital, Blandford Hospital, and two hospitals in the west of the county.

The new 10p's have been created as part of The Great British Coin Hunt with the ‘NHS’ 10p coin celebrating one of the many things that makes Britain great. They’ll be released gradually over the next week with the first ones already available at Alderney.

Chief Executive of The Royal Mint Anne Jessopp, said: “The ‘N’ for NHS has proved a very popular choice with the public as a Great British Coin Hunt 10p theme. The NHS is a well-respected national institution - most Britons will come into contact with it at some time in their lives, so it was a natural choice.”

To get your hands on one of these special 10p coins, you just need to make a cash purchase at one of the restaurants in the above hospitals.

Coins will also be available in selected NHS restaurants and shops around the country and you can also buy them from The Royal Mint in a range of finishes, from uncirculated to silver proof.

Additional coins launched as part of The Great British Coin Hunt include cricket and the Loch Ness monster. The 26 coins map out the A-Z of what makes Britain great – from the Angel of the North to a Zebra Crossing.