Clinical Excellence

Improvements in patient care

We are constantly striving to improve the care and treatment we offer our patients. Here are just some of the successes we have seen over the year…

Dorset County Cardiac Centre Opening

HRH the Earl of Wessex officially opened the Dorset County Cardiac Centre at Dorset County Hospital.
The new unit, which includes a state-of-the-art cardiac catheter suite, means that patients can now receive complex heart treatments at Dorset County Hospital rather than having to travel to Bournemouth or Southampton.
Most recently, our cardiologists have launched a new life-saving heart treatment called Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI) service, which involves opening up a blocked or narrowing artery with a balloon and then putting a stent in place to prevent the artery blocking again.

Pioneering Cancer Treatment

A Weymouth father was the first patient in West Dorset to have a ground-breaking operation to rid him of cancer.
He had keyhole surgery called a laparoscopic radical nephrectomy to remove a kidney tumour – an innovative new procedure which meant he was only in hospital for three days and was left with very small scars.
The pioneering operation was carried out by Consultant Urological Surgeon Stephen Andrews, who was delighted to be able to tell his patient that the cancer had been completely removed.

Maternity Unit One of the Best

Dorset County Hospital’s maternity unit was rated ‘best performing’ in a review of maternity care throughout the country.
The Healthcare Commission’s report put Dorset County Hospital among the top hospitals.
In a patient survey, mums placed Dorset County Hospital’s maternity service among the best in the country.
The local service gained higher scores than any other hospital for patient satisfaction in several key areas in a patient survey.

Princess Anne Opens New Renal Unit

HRH The Princess Royal officially opened a new department of Dorset County Hospital’s county-wide renal service.
The new hi-tech dialysis unit is in Poole at the Fulcrum Business Park and offers 20 additional dialysis stations, which supplement the satellite unit at the Royal Bournemouth Hospital and the main unit at Dorset County Hospital.
Dorset County Hospital provides the renal dialysis service for patients throughout the county.
The new unit can accommodate up to 120 patients and includes special isolation stations to maximise patient safety.

Praise for Excellent Endoscopy Unit

Dorset County Hospital’s endoscopy staff received high praise for their exceptional standards from an independent review body.
The Joint Advisory Group on Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (JAG) highlighted the ‘excellent team working, excellent staff morale and excellent practice’ following an accreditation visit.
The JAG report also praised the unit’s clinical quality and safety, as well as the privacy, dignity and comfort experienced by patients.

Spinal Surgery Success

Revolutionary new spinal surgery is changing the lives of patients at Dorset County Hospital. A new technique introduced by the spinal team, called kyphoplasty, has proved highly successful for patients with spinal wedge fractures and myeloma (cancer of the bone).
The surgery involves injecting a balloon between compressed bones, inflating and removing the balloon and then pumping in special repairing cement.
Consultant Spinal Surgeon Andrew Hilton says the new surgery is transforming people’s lives and allows them to recover far more quickly than before.

New Kidney Stone Treatment

Dorset County Hospital joined forces with Dorset Primary Care Trust to launch a groundbreaking new kidney stone treatment at Bridport Community Hospital.
The new ultrasonic shockwave treatment - called lithotrypsy - means Consultant Urologist Naveed Afzal can treat 10 patients a day at Bridport without general anaesthetic.
Patients previously had to travel to London or Bristol. Now patients can be treated locally, go home immediately and are left with only a small amount of bruising. The treatment takes around 20 minutes to break up the kidney or uric acid stones into sand-size particles which can be passed without trouble.

Grant for Osteoporosis Scans

A generous grant from the National Osteoporosis Society was good news for Dorset County Hospital patients needing a special scan.
The hospital’s rheumatology team received a £88,310 grant from the Society to cut waiting times for DXA (dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry) scans, which diagnose osteoporosis.
Jane Raleigh, Clinical Specialist in Rheumatology, says the funding will allow additional staffing to carry out scans four days a week instead of one. The change will quadruple the number of scans done in a year and help diagnose the fragile bone condition earlier.

An Ambassador for Cutting Waiting Times

Dorset County Hospital was singled out as an ‘ambassador site’ in the nationwide effort to cut waiting times for NHS patients.
Dorset County Hospital was one of just five hospitals in the country to be chosen to work with the ‘No Delays Team’ at the NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement on ensuring that by December 2008, no patient has to wait longer than 18 weeks from referral by their GP to the start of treatment at hospital. As an ambassador site, Dorset County Hospital can access a wealth of expert advice and is receiving free support from a project manager to work on shortening every aspect of the patient’s journey through the hospital system, from outpatients and diagnostic tests to inpatient or day surgery treatment.