DORSET County Hospital has said it will work to find the best solution for local people as campaigners launch a petition to keep overnight services in Dorchester.

A report by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health published this week as part of the Dorset Clinical Commissioning Group's review of local health services suggested the county town hospital could look to integrate paediatric and maternity services with Yeovil.

While the exact model for the integrated service has yet to be outlined, campaigners are concerned that it could lead to overnight services for either maternity or paediatrics relocating to Somerset.

The report claimed that the size of departments in Dorchester and Yeovil meant they were not sustainable in the long term and suggested integration as an alternative to services transferring from Dorset County Hospital to Poole or Bournemouth.

Dorset County Hospital's chief executive Patricia Miller said: “We broadly welcome this report and will now go through the recommendations in detail to assess the implications for paediatric, maternity and neonatal services at Dorset County Hospital."

"We recognise that we need to work more closely with our neighbouring hospitals to ensure we can provide high quality, financially sustainable services for our community into the future."

"There will be changes in Dorset but we will be working hard to ensure the needs of our local population are met with the very best services we and our partners can provide.

"The recommendations in the Royal College report will be carefully considered as part of the clinical services review and it is important to emphasise that no decisions have been taken yet. Any decisions will be subject to full public consultation."

Campaigner Naomi Patterson said that, while she initially felt that integration with Yeovil might be a more positive solution, she has since been contacted by people from Weymouth, Portland and even Lyme Regis concerned about the prospect of having to travel to the Somerset town.

She said that whatever the outcome, the campaigners were keen to see overnight services for both maternity and paediatrics stay in Dorchester and she has launched a petition to this effect.

Naomi said: "There is not a great feeling at all for a lot of people."

"People in Portland and Weymouth say they will suffer massively and I have been contacted by someone from Lyme Regis who said it would be a nightmare to get to Yeovil because of the roads.

"We are campaigning to keep overnight services."

To support the petition visit change.org/p/dorset-clinical-commissioning-group-dorset-county-hospital-to-stay-24hour