Changes to NHS services in Somerset could have a knock-on effect for the County Hospital in Dorchester.
The county is undergoing its own review – with one suggestion being to move some services from Yeovil Hospital to Taunton.
Dorset County Hospital governors heard at their meeting this week (Mond) that if that happened patients in the north of the county who currently go to Yeovil, might have no option but to come to Dorchester.
It could also mean some Somerset patients opting to make the shorter journey to Dorchester, rather than travel to Taunton.
Hospital chief executive Patricia Miller told the meeting that no decisions had yet been made and there was ongoing liaison with Somerset about their proposed changes.
She said that if the changes did happen it might not have a adverse affect on DCH and could be beneficial, provided the funding followed the patients and DCH managers knew about the changes with enough time to plan ahead.
She said that the hospital needed to be ready with a business case to submit in the autumn if the Dorchester hospital needed to make any further investment to deal with any increase in patients from the north of the county and south Somerset.
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