DCH was established in 1991 and the hospital outside Dorchester was built in 1997. We are currently in the middle of a number of strategic estates improvements including a new multi-storey car park and a refurbishment of the emergency department.
We provide services to approximately 250,000 people living within Weymouth and Portland, West Dorset, North Dorset and the Purbecks. We also provide renal services for patients in Dorset and south Somerset, a total population of 850,000.
There’s 3,000 staff working within the hospital, community, residential homes, schools and GP surgeries.
In September 2021 we were ranked as one of the top 10 in the country for emergency care and are currently working with Dorset health organisations to create a space for rapid access clinics in South Walks House, Dorchester, as part of a county-wide effort to tackle NHS waiting lists.
Our new DCH strategy focuses on three strategic goals: people, place and partnership which is in line with the ICS aspirations, seeking views from across the organisation to ensure we know what is important to those who are central to its delivery.
The Trust are very active in quality improvement and with the new QI Strategy and Implementation plan we are looking forward to sharing tools, learning and helping staff to innovate even more readily in future.
For more information please visit www.dchft.nhs.uk
