keith.williams

People across the country are facing new challenges as a result of the Coronavirus outbreak. Many are taking on more caring responsibilities for their relatives and friends who are disabled, ill or older. We want to recognise the difficulties these carers are experiencing and provide the help, understanding and support that they need. So during Carers Week - 8 - 14 June 2020, we're coming together to help make caring visible. Local carers support organisations will be holding virtual coffee mornings, workshops, poetry writing events for carers this week.  They will also be available for telephone chats and online coffee and [...]

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and social distancing, GPs throughout Dorset have been asking people to consider alternative ways of contacting them in order to help reduce the spread of the virus amongst local communities and minimising their own personal risk. This has included online, video and telephone remote consultations along with eConsult - an online system which enables patients to complete a confidential online form which is then sent to their GP practice who will respond by 6.30pm the following day to offer advice, provide a prescription or an appointment if necessary or arrange for referral to [...]

Clinicians in Dorset are urging parents to attend regular vaccination appointments with their children in order to protect their health and reduce the risk of outbreaks of serious diseases. Essential, routine vaccinations like the MMR jab can save a child’s life and are available through family doctors. As long as those attending appointments, including parents of babies or children, do not have symptoms or are not self-isolating because someone in the household is displaying symptoms, all scheduled vaccinations should go ahead as normal. Dr Sam Abdollahian is a GP in Dorset and a named GP for safeguarding with NHS Dorset CCG. [...]

NHS services are #HereForYou for you this coming Bank Holiday Monday with people being urged to get the help they need despite the COVID-19 pandemic. Although there may be different ways to access services pharmacies, minor injuries units, and hospital emergency departments are all available for people who need them. Weymouth’s Urgent Treatment Centre and minor injuries units (MIUs) at Bridport, Shaftesbury, Swanage and Wimborne hospitals are still running, but by appointment only. Please call your local MIU, 01305 762541 or 111 and you will be given advice or booked in for a face-to-face appointment at the appropriate site. You can [...]

A new campaign from the local Pan-Dorset Safeguarding Partnership asks children and young people to #TellSomeone if they feel unsafe. The campaign will take place across a range of social media channels, targeting different age groups from primary school upwards, telling them to tell someone they trust or call national charity Childline if they feel unsafe in their environment during the current lockdown conditions. A spokesperson for the partnership said “It can be hard for children and young people to understand what is going on at the moment as virtually every aspect of their daily routine has changed. “For some children [...]

Whilst we will be going ahead with the Governing Body meeting on Wednesday 13 May we will be minimising any potential risk to those involved, staff and members of the public by minimising visitors and using video conferencing across sites rather than hosting the meeting in one site. We are happy to consider questions and will be publishing the papers and minutes as usual on our website for those people who were planning to attend.

NHS services are here for you this coming Bank Holiday - Friday May 8 - for those that need them despite the COVID-19 pandemic. Pharmacies, minor injuries units, and hospital emergency departments are all available for people who need them, but you may have to access them in different ways than you have in the past. Weymouth’s Urgent Treatment Centre and minor injuries units (MIUs) at Bridport, Shaftesbury, Swanage and Wimborne hospitals are still running, but by appointment only. You can no longer walk into these services. If you have an ailment or injury which requires urgent care, please call your [...]

Your NHS is Here for You in Dorset Local partners providing health and care services across Dorset are encouraging people to seek and get the help they need during the current COVID-19 pandemic. The call - part of Dorset’s #hereforyou campaign - follows concerns that people may not be seeking the help they need for themselves and their families because of COVID-19. And the aim is to reassure people that whilst the way services are being delivered may be different, patients should still access them when they need to, and not delay. Whilst GPs in Dorset have changed the way they [...]

Our Chair, Dr Forbes Watson has paid tribute to a much respected and valued member of staff who sadly passed away at Dorset County Hospital. Dr Craig Wakeham, the Chief Clinical Information Officer at NHS Dorset Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and former GP from Cerne Abbas, passed away on Saturday 18 April 2020 aged 59.  He had tested positive for COVID-19. Dr Forbes Watson said “We are all deeply saddened to have lost a valued and committed colleague and friend. Craig was a champion for rural general practice and a pioneer for integrated nursing teams, having lived and worked as a [...]

A big thank you to everyone in the care profession – clap for our care workers Like the rest of the country, and indeed much of the world, hundreds of thousands of Dorset residents - family, neighbours and friends are coming to terms with life as it is following the outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19). It's more important than ever for us to work together and look after one another. It is only through solidarity, self-awareness and a collective conscience that we can come through this. There is one group of people often overlooked in all of this. They are the social [...]