A RADICAL proposal to transform the way emergency care is delivered in Bournemouth and Poole has been welcomed by hospital bosses – but criticised for lacking detail and featuring too much jargon by a health watchdog.

After months of consultations with medical professionals throughout Dorset, a £2.75 million review of healthcare in the county by its Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) has suggested developing a ‘major emergency hospital’ at the existing Royal Bournemouth Hospital or Poole Hospital sites. The other would become a ‘major planned care hospital’.

The review came amid concerns about the strain services were being put under by an ageing population and increased financial pressures. The CCG’s chair, Dr Forbes Watson, declared that ‘doing nothing is not an option’.

The emergency hospital would provide day-to-day acute services at all times while the planned care hospital would focus on treating patients requiring scheduled operations.

And Poole Hospital’s chief executive Debbie Fleming welcomed the plans, claiming they present ‘exciting opportunities’ to develop services.

“Dorset has never before provided the range of services that make up a major emergency hospital site within one location,” she said.

“The development of this type of hospital will mean significant benefits for the local population, as well as opportunities for staff to develop pioneering services and work with partners to achieve the very best outcomes for patients.

“Similarly, staff at the major planned care hospital will be able to place greater focus on delivering innovative, high-quality elective and day case surgery without the pressures associated with meeting the demand for emergency care. It is also envisaged that this kind of hospital will provide a range of valuable local services for the population in that area.

“Our hospital has a history of providing excellent high-quality care across a wide range of services and however those may develop in the future, I know we will take those high standards forward and continue to provide the best possible care to the people we serve.”

And Royal Bournemouth Hospital’s chief executive Tony Spotswood said: "The Clinical Services Review (CSR) is an opportunity to examine health services across our locality to see what could be done better to help cope with increased demands. This will help ensure the best possible outcomes for patients and we want to see the CSR strengthening services for our local residents and beyond.

"As the consultation process runs later this year, with decisions being made by Dorset’s Clinical Commissioning Group next spring, we will continue to focus on providing excellent care to patients at the Royal Bournemouth Hospital and those cared for at Christchurch."

However, the chair of watchdog Healthwatch Dorset, Martyn Webster, said unless the CCG’s can show the changes will improve conditions for patients, it should not expect the public to accept them.

“What the proposals as they stand at the moment are short on is detail,” he added. “And, as the old saying goes, the devil is in the detail.

“What local people are going to want to know is ‘How is this going to affect me? How is it going to be different in practice from how things are now, and why?’ “The CCG needs to explain its proposals in plain English, without jargon or technical language, show what difference they will make to people’s lives and how it will result in better healthcare wherever you live in the county.”

He also raised concerns for residents living in west Dorset who are worried about having to travel a long distance for treatment when they already have limited or no access to public transport, as well as a ‘slow road network’.

He said they will be “wondering why the major emergency hospital is going to be in the east of the county when Dorchester Hospital’s A&E department has been declared to be the best in the country.”

“As they stand, these proposals could set Poole Hospital and Bournemouth Hospital up in competition with each other, to become the one Major Emergency Hospital in the county,” he added. “But we firmly believe that the best way to ensure the best possible care for all is collaboration and cooperation between service commissioners, providers, staff, patients and the public, rather than competition.

He added: “Let’s have these proposals in a form that gives us both less and more – less jargon and more detail. Spell out what it will actually mean for people. And then let’s have a proper consultation, in which local people can have their say and have their views genuinely listened to and acted on.”

The changes could be implemented within five years.