Local residents are being invited to hear more about Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust’s plans to develop the hospital site during a drop-in event.
The Trust is hoping to expand its Emergency Department (ED) and Intensive Care Unit (ICU) as well as establish an Integrated Care Hub as part of a long-term project to deliver the recommendations of Dorset’s Clinical Services Review.
In order to free up space on the hospital site for the development of clinical facilities, the Trust is proposing to build a multi-storey car park to improve parking for patients, visitors and staff. The Trust is also working in partnership to develop the land it owns on the site of the former Damers School and the current Trust Headquarters to raise income to contribute to the cost of the clinical facilities building work. The development of the Damers/Trust HQ land could include a mix of health and care related facilities and housing.
Local people are invited to come and find out more about the plans on 17 July 2019 from 3pm to 7pm in the West Annex building on the old Damers School site in Damers Road.
Representatives of the Trust and its estates development partner Prime will be on hand to answer questions and gather feedback. A planning application is due to be submitted later in the summer.
The Trust’s Director of Strategy, Transformation and Partnerships Nick Johnson said: “Our Emergency Department now deals with twice as many patients as it was originally designed to cope with. Demand is only going to rise in the future so we need to expand and redesign the department to make it fit for purpose.
“Similarly, our Intensive Care Unit needs to be expanded so we can cope with the increased demand and provide care in the best environment possible.
“Building the multi-storey car park will free up the space we need on our site to expand ED and ICU and create the hub.
“The Integrated Care Hub will bring staff and services together on site to allow us to get patients home safely in a timely way as well as help avoid unnecessary hospital admissions.”
More information about the hospital’s plans will be available at www.dchft.nhs.uk. Queries and feedback about the plans can be sent to masterplan@dchft.nhs.uk
