Campaigners are set to confront councillors over concerns surrounding a major healthcare shake-up in the county.

A meeting is due to be held this Wednesday, August 22 to address concerns surrounding the NHS Dorset Clinical Commissioning Group’s Clinical Services Review (CSR).

Under the CSR, Poole Hospital would lose its accident and emergency and maternity departments, with more beds and staff created at Royal Bournemouth Hospital. Campaigners say this would leave many residents – especially those in Purbeck and North Dorset – at a dangerously long distance from emergency treatment.

The CSR will also see ‘vital’ beds cut at community hospitals on Portland and in Wareham, with greater use of ‘care-at-home’.

At a recent protest at Portland Hospital, campaigners said losing the ‘step-down’ community beds would cause bed-blocking in acute wards and cause unnecessary stress to patients who would be forced to remain far from home.

On Wednesday, action groups and residents will discuss the proposals with county and district councillors.

Dorset’s Health and Scrutiny Committee has created a special task and finish group to consider concerns about the review.

Task and finish group meetings are not public so representatives from local groups – including Defend NHS Dorset and Healthwatch Dorset, plus a number of concerned individuals, have been invited to join the meeting.

Giovanna Lewis of Defend NHS Dorset said: “We will be giving evidence associated with their plans in terms of the way ambulance times were estimated.”

She added the CCG had only looked at risks associated with people arriving by ambulance but 80 per cent of children, babies and pregnant mothers arrived by other means.

She said the group would also be pleading for the community beds.

“The idea is to have care closer to home at community hubs, keeping people out of hospital and being able to discharge them sooner.

“The aspiration is you will need less beds – as a whole the idea is good but there are real concerns about the plan to do that.”

Councillor Ray Bryan, chairman of the task and finish group said: “We understand how vital local health and care services are to our residents and acknowledge that there are a lot of concerns.

“It is right that their views and opinions are heard.”

After the meeting, the working group will give an update to the Dorset Health and

Scrutiny Committee in September, with a full report to follow.