DORSET COUNTY Hospital’s new chief executive says local people will help to shape the new-look way health services are delivered in the community in the future.

Giving her first interview after being appointed to the role, Patricia Miller told the Dorset Echo that:

  • A review of hospital services would see services delivered closer to patients’ homes;
  • The public will have a role in shaping those services;
  • The hospital was forecast to incur a deficit of £900,000 in the current financial year, but this was part of a longer term plan approved by the health regulator Monitor;
  • Plans for an extension to the emergency department were being worked up that would ensure it meets demand for another ten years.

After spending 25 years working in a variety of roles in the NHS, Mrs Miller was officially appointed to the top job at the Dorchester hospital this week after taking over from Jean O’Callaghan on an interim basis in July.

Mrs Miller had joined the hospital in 2011 as director of operations, having previously spent nine years at Bedford Hospital.

Her in-tray is already bulging with plenty of issues to focus on, including a complete review of the way the hospital delivers its services.

Mrs Miller said: “Our biggest issue is our long-term future.

“We are what Monitor class as a small hospital and we want to secure the future going forward to make sure that residents from west, mid and north Dorset have 24/7 access to emergency services and everything that entails.”

Mrs Miller said Dorset County Hospital was part of a national group looking at future options for small hospitals and that was being supported by the new Department of Health chief executive Simon Stevens.

She said: “He is of the view that small providers provide the bedrock of the NHS in terms of providing local services, particularly to rural communities.”

Mrs Miller said the hospital’s strategic direction was focused on providing what would be traditionally called ‘community services’ closer to patients’ homes.

She said: “It’s not about providing these services on site, it’s about providing them within the community as close as possible to where they live.”

Mrs Miller said the future direction would also involve closer working with GPs to ensure the hospital can reach out into the community as far as it can.

The hospital is hosting an open day from 2pm to 5pm on Saturday, October 4 and that will be one of the first opportunities members of the public will have to find out more about the future plans and feed their views into the process.

She said: “We are trying to work with them and hear their views about how the whole model will work.”

Mrs Miller said that in terms of the hospital’s financial situation, its annual plan had outlined a forecasted deficit of £900,000 in the current financial year. She explained that this was because the hospital had gone so far with its savings programme in recent years any more savings could risk the quality of patient care and that was not something she was prepared to do.

Mrs Miller said: “If we want to put any more savings into the budget position it would impact upon quality and we are not prepared to take those steps.”

She moved to reassure members of the public that the forecast deficit position for this year and next year will not impact on the hospital’s status with Monitor because its plans, which include a move back into financial balance after that stage, had been agreed with the regulator.

Mrs Miller stressed that the hospital’s priority would always be delivering the highest quality of care to patients.

She said she was particularly proud of the hospital’s recent recognition by the 2014 Health Service Journal Awards.

The hospital was one of five trusts shortlisted for the Provider Trust of the Year and deputy director of nursing Neal Cleaver was nominated in the Rising Stars category.

They will find out if they are successful at an awards ceremony in London on November 19.

One area where the hospital will be turning its attention to in the coming months is the emergency department.

The department was built more than 20 years ago to cater for around 23,000 patients a year and is now seeing around 45,000.

Decision due on path lab THE HOSPITAL has come under fire in recent weeks from campaigners unhappy with its review of pathology services.

A decision on the future of the service is due next month, with protestors fearful that the laboratory could be relocated to a private firm in Taunton.

Mrs Miller said that the hospital was looking at the issue very carefully and would make sure that any decision taken was in the best interests of the hospital.

She said: “We are planning to take a decision at our October trust board meeting and the priority has always been to compare our service with other services that are available and make sure we are getting absolute high quality and the best value for money for the taxpayer.”

Mrs Miller was also asked about the future of the hospital-owned Damers School site, with the school set to relocate to Poundbury for the 2016 school year.

She said she was unable to give any definitive answer and that the future requirements of the hospital would become clearer after the review was concluded in April or May next year.