HI READERS, it’s Emily and William here this week following up on our Zoom conversation with Jo Findlay from Dorset County Hospital. Last week we talked about help for people with learning disabilities and coming into hospital.

This week we will talk about how things are going at the hospital. These are some of the questions we asked Jo.

Do people wear masks in hospital? Yes, at the moment. Do you? No, because I’m not looking after patients. In emergency departments and on wards, depending on their contact is with patients, staff wear the right masks and gowns. Are dentists still working? Yes, they are. Are there as many operations? Not at the moment, just emergency operations.

Do you social distance? Yes we do. Where there is lots of patient contact it’s not so easy, so these staff wear protective clothing. Guidance is followed, so it depends where you are working as to what you wear.

Do you use hand sanitiser and handwash? All the time. Do they disinfect the ambulances? Yes. What about outpatient appointments? Some of these are now done using a special video system, so many can still go ahead.

Can you still visit people in hospital? Visiting is still very restricted but it is possible in some cases.

Do the cleaners, kitchen staff and porters still work? Yes. These jobs are really important, and they are all working really hard. Many hospital people are working differently, from home if they can.

As you can see, we had lots of questions for Jo, which she answered clearly for us. We learnt that everyone is working hard at the hospital to keep people safe in hospital and that we continue to be proud of everyone working in the NHS.

The writers of the Our View column are supported in their editing by People First Dorset - a charity led and run by people with learning disabilities with support from staff