'Patients are paying the price' as healthcare services across Dorset remain 'inaccessible'
South Dorset MP Lloyd Hatton says patients across the county are having to travel further for essential healthcare
A Dorset MP is calling for healthcare services to be restored and brought closer to patients in coastal areas.
It comes as thousands of people across the county are forced to travel miles to receive essential treatment.
South Dorset MP Lloyd Hatton told us: “I’d like to see us get behind and champion our community hospitals as these are fantastic local assets.
“We should restore some of the services that have been lost in recent years but also to look at relocating more clinics and more treatment facility into our community hospitals.”
Just recently Wareham lost its chemotherapy clinic, Swanage lost its rheumatology clinic, Weymouth lost a whole range of services and Portland lost an MIU and an X ray facility.
As a result, residents are finding it “difficult” to access care and many are even missing their routine appointments due to service being “too far away”.
MP Lloyd Hatton said: “If you make a scan or an appointment tricky to get to there's a fairly good chance that a patient will miss it and that is bad news for the NHS as it's a waste of money but it's also bad news for the patient.
“We know that when a diagnosis is made early and treatment can start early, patients are far more likely to have a better health outcomes.”
He added: “The previous government gutted community hospitals and I think, sadly, patients are paying the price with care being further away and more difficult to get to
“My constituents have been getting in touch with me saying they have to get multiple buses or rely on family or even pay for a very expensive taxi just to receive essential treatment.”
In response, the government told us it is expanding Community Diagnostic Centres and surgical hubs so patients can get tests, checks scans and treatment faster and closer to home.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “Shifting care from hospital to community is a key priority and we have delivered 3 million additional appointments since July.”