HOSPITAL services are being moved away from Bridport, meaning patients will have to travel 15 miles to access them.

Bridport Community Hospital operates a number of clinics and day services, including some surgical procedures. Some of these are provided by Dorset County Hospital (DCH) clinicians, who travel from Dorchester, and some are provided by Dorset HealthCare.

Clinicians from DCH currently provide procedures at Bridport for the treatment of kidney stones (lithotripsy) and a diagnostic investigation of the bladder (cystoscopy). Alongside lithotripsy and cystoscopy, gastroscopy services (when clinicians use endoscopes to look inside patients’ stomachs) will also be based at DCH.They were temporarily moved from Bridport last April and DCH says patients have been 'benefitting from an enhanced service.'

It claims by making this change permanent, it will 'ensure certainty' for patients and staff.

General surgery and vasectomy services will continue at Bridport Hospital – run by Dorset HealthCare – alongside a range of other outpatient procedures.

Dorset HealthCare also plans to relocate the Musculo-Skeletal (MSK) service list from Bridport to Blandford - more than 30 miles away -and claims this will make it more accessible to more patients.

Bridport town, district and county councillor Keith Day says he is shocked by the move, which he says is ‘appalling.'

"Bridport is an area of predominantly elderly people who will struggle to get to DCH," said Cllr Day. "I think a lot of people will be upset this. It's much more convenient and cost-effective for one clinician to visit Bridport than it is for all these patients to get from Bridport to Dorchester."

Cllr Day fears some older patients might miss appointments altogether.

"That is a danger," he said. "They might be tempted to think they can manage without, especially if they can't use public transport or aren't very well-off."

Bridport town councillor Kelvin Clayton, who sits on the council's environment and social wellbeing committee, says he also has concerns.

"Whilst I need to find out more about these changes, and will endeavour to attend one of the information events, my initial reaction is one of concern for patients," said Cllr Clayton. "Particularly elderly or disabled patients, who rely on public transport. Changes like these seem to assume that travelling 15 miles is not an issue, which is not the case for a significant number of people. Even if public transport in west Dorset was good, this would be an issue. However, public transport is not good."

DCH claims moving the services to Dorchester will allow specialists to see more patients and provide more comprehensive care with the latest, state-of-the-art equipment.

Dorset County Hospital’s chief operating officer, Inese Robotham, said: “We want to emphasise that there will be no reduction to any services, this is a change of location only. Furthermore, relocating some of the services to DCH will allow our clinicians to treat more patients with the most up to date equipment and will have a significant positive impact on waiting times.”

Karen Fisher, Dorset HealthCare’s locality manager for mid and west Dorset, said: “These relocations will enhance the services we provide for patients. And a wide range of services will continue to be provided at Bridport Hospital, which was identified as one of the county’s key community health and care ‘hubs’ in the recent Clinical Services Review.”

Local GPs, patient participation groups and hospital Leagues of Friends have been contacted about the changes, which will also be considered by the Dorset Health Scrutiny Committee

Bridport residents can find out more about the changes, and comment on how they might could be affected, at two upcoming events:

Tuesday, March 5 – 2-4pm, The Bull Hotel, East Street.

Wednesday, March 20 – 6-8pm Bridport venue (tbc)

|