WORK started at Poole Hospital this week to create a new main entrance.

The project, which is expected to be completed in March, will bring a new, modernised reception area, a café, convenience store and gift shop, and a suite of public toilets.

A first floor link will be established to connect the main hospital building with the Dorset Cancer Centre and the Philip Arnold Unit. This will improve patient “dignity and safety”, according to the hospital.

A temporary walkway between the Philip Arnold Unit and the main hospital through Durlston garden is open during construction work.

The hospital has warned the walkway will be “a very busy environment so patient, visitor and staff use... needs to be kept to a minimum.”

The horseshoe car park outside the entrance is completely closed, but the ramp to the current main entrance remains open for ambulances and drop-offs.

Visitors to the hospital are being urged not to drop off or pick up from the pavement outside the horseshoe entrance as it will cause congestion on Longfleet Road.

The new entrance will be called the main entrance (south) while the existing main entrance will be known as the north entrance.

Three new retail spaces – a café, a convenience store and a gift shop – will be built, creating 15 jobs, along with the development of a “large and airy reception and waiting area” and drop-off point.

The scheme was welcomed by the hospital’s chief executive Debbie Fleming who said previously it would improve patients’ experiences.

“The proposed new front entrance includes a single-storey build – covering the current entrances 6, 7, and 8 – which will link the main hospital to the Philip Arnold Unit. In this way, it will be easier to transfer patients across the hospital, with more privacy, dignity and respect,” she said.

“The new front entrance will provide a clear focus point for the hospital - a new, modern reception area with a range of facilities, including a suite of public rest rooms and three retail outlets. By entering the hospital in this way, patients and visitors will find it easier to navigate their way around the hospital site.”

Construction work has been phased to reduce disruption with work split so that the new entrance is opened before the existing retail facilities are closed.

Refurbishment of the dome area will also follow the opening of the new entrance.