Dorset NHS hospital campaigners renew legal fight

The plans have been the subject of numerous public protests

Campaigners fighting the reorganisation of hospital services in Dorset have launched another legal challenge.

Dorset's Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) is going ahead with changes, including shutting Poole's A&E, after winning a judicial review in July.

Defend Dorset NHS, which brought the initial challenge, said it was seeking to overturn the High Court decision.

An application to lodge an appeal was made on Wednesday with a result expected to take several weeks.

If successful, the judicial review ruling would be reviewed by the Court of Appeal.

Under the plans, Poole's A&E, maternity and paediatric services will be lost to Bournemouth, which will become the area's main emergency hospital.

Poole is set to become a centre for planned treatment and operations.

'No staff'

Changes to mental health acute care include the closure and relocation of beds at Weymouth's Linden unit and the creation of extra inpatient beds at St Ann's Hospital in Poole and Forston Clinic near Dorchester.

Beds at Portland Hospital have already been closed.

The changes aim to tackle a funding shortfall of £158m by 2021.

Debby Monkhouse of Defend Dorset NHS, which crowdfunded the judicial review, said: "We've got a number of issues with the judgement. We were very shocked when the decision came through.

"We're battling on because if Poole A&E and Poole maternity hadn't been there, just under half the real-life cases detailed in the ambulance trust report would have died, according to an A&E doctor, and over a year this would be about 180 Dorset people.

"We know we are struggling to cope with the A&E services we've got now. Downgrading Poole A&E, which saw 68,000 people last year, is madness."

She added there were "no staff" to run community-based services which were due to replace community hospitals.

Dorset CCG said the High Court had "emphatically dismissed all claims" made at the July hearing.

It said the new judicial review application was "disappointing" and would be at further cost to NHS and legal aid budgets.

Defend Dorset NHS crowdfunded the initial challenge