Hospital move for patients with blood disorders

Royal Bournemouth Hospital is becoming a site for emergencies under plans to streamline services

Some blood disorder patients needing emergency treatment in Dorset are being advised they will soon have to visit a different hospital.

Durlston ward at Poole Hospital, which cares for haematology inpatients, will move to Ward 7R in Royal Bournemouth Hospital (RBH) from Monday.

RBH will become an emergency hospital, while planned haematology admissions will still be sent to Poole.

The move would see the majority of patients centralised to a single hospital site so resources could be streamlined, the county's NHS trust said.

Aside from the location change, the move is not expected to impact cancer care, according to University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust.

It follows a review in 2017, which proposed the majority of inpatient wards should be moved to the hospital in Bournemouth.

Most other ward moves were unlikely to take place until 2025, the trust added.