THE merger of the Poole and Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch hospital trusts completes today.
Here we look back over how we got to this point and what the changes mean.
What is happening?
After years of preparation, the merger of the Poole and Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch hospital trusts completes today. The merger of the two trusts has been progressed as part of plans they say will both cut costs and improve treatment for patients.
- "It's a new dawn at the end of what's been, because of coronavirus, a scary time for everyone"
What are the main changes?
Royal Bournemouth Hospital will eventually become a major emergency centre while Poole Hospital will have increased focus on planned treatment. It is expected to take at least six years of work for the complete change of hospital services to come into full effect.
How will the hospitals change?
Plans to expand Royal Bournemouth Hospital have been granted planning permission. Included within the scheme are new emergency, maternity and paediatric departments alongside a new multi-storey car park and pathology lab which would create 900 new jobs.
The centrepiece of the plans at Bournemouth is the Women’s, Children’s Emergency and Critical Care Centre (WCEC).
It will include one of the largest emergency departments on the south coast, a purpose built maternity unit with two obstetric theatres, special care baby unit, neonatal, antenatal and postnatal care units, a new paediatric unit and 30-bed critical care unit.
Work could start as soon as next year and it is expected to be finished by 2024.
Meanwhile, there are plans for a new theatre complex at Poole Hospital and the creation of a new Macmillan Unit at Christchurch Hospital.
It is hoped that the overall programme of works across all three hospitals will be completed by 2026.
Who opposed this?
Campaigners Defend Dorset NHS say the loss of Poole Hospital's accident and emergency department and maternity services, in particular, would be a huge mistake.
The campaign group launched two legal challenges against the plans and also wrote to the Health Secretary claiming 'no proper risk assessment' had been carried out over the proposed NHS shake-up.
Debby Monkhouse, of Defend Dorset NHS, who despite the merger still hopes a local accident and emergency facility can remain in Poole, said: "As things stand, under the merger we will lose A&E, maternity and children's units at Poole.
"This would mean very long journey times for some Dorset residents in an emergency.
"We look forward to joint working with health managers on the option of "A&E Local" - a daytime full A&E at Poole."
What did the hospitals say?
Speaking after formal approval was given By NHS Improvement for the merger to complete, Debbie Fleming – the trust's joint chief executive – said: "This is excellent news as we know that we can serve local people better as the larger, more resilient University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust.
“This merger has been a very long time coming but we know it will bring huge benefits for patients and staff alike.
“Our new organisation will be able to make better use of resources and will be better placed to recruit and retain staff.
“Most importantly, by bringing services together, we can improve the quality of care provided for our patients.”
Why is today special?
Today the merger of the Poole and Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch hospital trusts will be completed and the new University Hospitals Dorset trust comes into being. The merger was due to be completed in July, but it had to be pushed back due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Tim Goodson, chief officer for NHS Dorset Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), said: "On behalf of all of us here at NHS Dorset CCG I would like to congratulate everyone involved in the creation of University Hospitals Dorset.
"There is a huge amount of work gone into this merger over the years and it is reassuring to know that we have such a great team behind the new organisation including members of staff, countless volunteers and other supporters.
"I am confident the new trust will go on to do great things for people living in and around Dorset and look forward to a working closely together in the future. “
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