Royal Bournemouth Hospital

Please click here to view the facilities for the Royal Bournemouth Hospital

Poole Hospital

Please click here to view the facilities for Poole Hospital

Christchurch Hospital

Please click here to view the facilities for Christchurch Hospital

Outpatient information

We run outpatients clinics across the Royal Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch hospitals.

Many of these appointments are now offered virtually as video or phone consultations. You can read more about this here.

We are also running an outpatient assessment clinic at the Dorset Health Village in the Dolphin Centre in Poole. Details of that here.

Additionally, in Dorset, our hospitals, GPs, community and mental health providers, and commissioning organisations are working together with the ambition to fundamentally change the way our outpatient services are delivered. You can read more about this exciting project here.

On average nationally, outpatient appointments (where a patient is referred to a hospital but not admitted) account for 85% of all hospital-based activity. Last year, nearly one million outpatient appointments took place in Dorset, which equates to approximately 15 million miles in travelling to and from hospital.

If you have been referred to any of our hospitals you will be sent an appointment letter containing information about your outpatient appointment. This will give you details of the time, date and location of your appointment.

To help us to tackle the large waiting lists caused by the Covid-19 pandemic we routinely contact patients waiting for appointments or procedures. Increasingly, this is by text message (SMS), but can also be by letter or phone call. You can find more information here.

Planning for your care and waiting times

We know how important it is for you to have your outpatient appointment as soon as possible, and here at UHD we are doing all that we can to reduce our waiting times.

Each speciality has different waits, and to help you plan, we can advise you of the likely time between your GP referral and you being seen by the specialist.

By reviewing the table below, you will be able to find out the average number of weeks between referral and your appointment with a specialist. This will include urgent/emergency and routine appointments.

We can also share with you the number of weeks that 95% of our patients had to wait for their appointment in each specialty, to give you a realistic indicator.

An example is shown below:

• In the Breast Specialty, the average wait between referral from GP to being seen at outpatients was two weeks.
• 95% of patients were seen within seven weeks of GP referral.
• Therefore, a patient might typically expect to wait between two and seven weeks for their outpatient appointment.

Data at April 2026

We encourage you to look at this information before contacting your GP or hospital for an update about any outpatient appointment you are waiting for.

The NHS has recently launched the My Planned Care Patient Digital Platform which also gives you helpful advice and support whilst you wait.

Outpatient clinics are held in the following locations.

Non-emergency patient transport

Travelling to your appointment using the non-emergency patient transport service

If you have a medical condition that means you cannot travel to the hospital using public transport, or you require the assistance of ambulance staff during your journey, then you may be eligible to use the Dorset or Hampshire Patient Transport Services. There is no charge for using the services, but you will be required to contact them to check you are medically eligible.

If you believe you may need to access patient transport, please follow this link to find out more information: NEPTS – NHS Dorset

To help you get to hospital on time and to avoid the delays that can be associated with parking, there is a door-to-door hospital car service.

It is a low cost and fixed price service for patients and visitors travelling to or from our hospitals. Escorts travel free. You need to be able to get in or out of a car independently, or with the help of a carer who travels with you.

The car service is operated by PRC Streamline every weekday between 9am and 6pm. Prices are based on mileage and you will be quoted a fixed price for your journey at the time of booking. You may have to share your car with another patient.

You can book the car service up to two weeks before your appointment by calling 01202 671 993 and quoting 'car service'. You can pay the driver by cash or card. Terms and conditions apply

• See details for Hampshire patients here

Fixed Price, Reduced Rate Taxi Service

To help you get to your hospital appointment on time and to avoid the delays that can be associated with parking, PRC Streamline are offering a fixed price and reduced cost taxi service to and from the Royal Bournemouth, Poole, and Christchurch Hospitals and other UHD Trust outpatient sites.

• Please see the attached leaflet for details.

Volunteer car services

You may get help travelling into hospital from one of the many volunteer transport services. Many GP practices are able to provide you with information about local volunteer car services operating in your catchment area. Volunteer drivers often use their own cars and you may have to pay a mileage rate or fixed price fare.

Volunteer services are aimed at providing older people or those who have accessibility issues with accessible or low cost travel to hospital and medical appointments. In the first instance contact your GP practice or for more information about community car schemes, head here. 

We are aware of services operating in the following areas:

• Christchurch Neighbour Car (covering all BH23 postcodes) - 01202 989632
• Ringwood, Good Neighbours - 07933 202112
• Verwood Neighbour Car - 01202 826764
• West Parley, Neighbour Car - 01202 890173
• Wimborne Neighbour Car - 01202 849360

Taxis

There are taxi ranks at the Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch hospitals and a taxi drop-off and pick-up are at Poole Hospital.