HEALTH secretary Matt Hancock paid a visit to Royal Bournemouth Hospital, weeks after ordering a review into plans for merging some of its key services with Poole.

Mr Hancock – who stood for the Tory leadership but withdrew after the first ballot of MPs – visited the hospital’s stroke unit and spoke to staff from Bournemouth and Poole.

The health secretary was shown plans for the development of the hospitals, including new operating theatres at Poole and new emergency, paediatric, maternity and critical care buildings at Royal Bournemouth.

He said: “It was great to visit the Royal Bournemouth Hospital and meet colleagues from across Dorset who are positive about the future. The stroke teams from Bournemouth and Poole coming together and the plans for the new hospital are incredibly exciting and Dorset is a great example of the NHS Long Term Plan becoming real.

“I was very glad to have the opportunity to thank staff from Dorset for all that they do for the local community and tell them how grateful we are.”

Debbie Fleming, joint chief executive of both Royal Bournemouth and Poole Hospital, said: “We are so proud of our services across Dorset and this was a great opportunity to showcase this on a national scale. It was great to see the secretary of state’s enthusiasm for our Dorset Plan and we were very pleased to welcome him so he could learn more about what we are doing for the future benefit of our patients.”

Last month, Mr Hancock ordered an investigation by the government-appointed Independent Reconfiguration Panel into plans by Dorset Clinical Commissioning Group to restructure the county’s NHS.

The plans involve closing Poole Hospital’s accident and emergency unit but expanding the department in Bournemouth. Poole’s maternity and paediatrics units would also close, as would five community hospitals.

The clinical commissioning group has said it welcomes the review into “specific aspects” of the proposals, which came after Dorset County Council raised concerns with the health secretary.

Earlier this week, Mr Hancock’s pledge to extend the government’s “sugar tax” to milkshakes ran into opposition from leadership front-runner Boris Johnson. Mr Johnson indicated he would drop the policy if he became prime minister, weeks after Mr Hancock announced he would be backing the former foreign secretary’s leadership campaign.