Department store closure leads to NHS clinic move

The outpatient unit opened in the top floor of Beales in December 2021

A hospital outpatient unit located on the top floor of a department store is to be relocated when the retailer closes its doors for the last time.

University Hospitals Dorset (UHD) created the hub in Beales, Poole, in December 2021 to help tackle waiting lists that grew during the Covid pandemic.

Beales announced in February that its last remaining department store would close at the end of May but said the NHS hub would remain.

UHD said outpatient services would move from 5 June to St Mary's Hospital - the former maternity unit which was relocated in March.

Outpatient services will move to the former maternity unit at St Mary's

Following the move, the Outpatients Assessment Clinic (OAC) will continue to provide abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) screening, dermatology, dexa scans, ophthalmology, orthopaedics, phlebotomy and ultrasound.

Core breast screening services will move to Poole Hospital, with remaining facilities relocated to another UHD site.

UHD chief operating officer Mark Mould said: "When we opened the Beales clinic, we were responding to unprecedented demand in the wake of Covid.

"Since then, the clinic has gone from strength to strength – with over 75,000 patients seen across 19 specialties.

"Our fantastic staff and volunteers have been key to the clinic's success, and their commitment will ensure we maintain the same high standards as we transition to the new location."

Maternity services moved from St Mary's to a new unit at Royal Bournemouth Hospital on 31 March.

Beales department store, in the Dolphin Centre, closes for the last time on Saturday.