Trust thanks service personnel for Covid support 

Staff at University Hospitals Dorset have extended their thanks to service personnel who have been working alongside them since January. 

Events held at both Poole and the Royal Bournemouth hospitals last week provided an opportunity to recognise all that has been achieved by the teams from the army, navy, RAF and Royal Marines who undertook a wide range of activities to support hospital staff.

Debbie Fleming, UHD chief executive, said: "We have been delighted to welcome our service personnel colleagues to UHD and really appreciate all the support the teams provided across both our sites at a time of unprecedented challenge. We thank them all for working to such a high standard alongside our teams, so that we could collectively maintain essential services and deliver safe, high quality care. It has been a pleasure to have them within our organisation."

Fiona Hoskins, deputy chief nursing officer, said the service personnel being deployed was a huge morale boost for the hospitals' teams. "It has been a marvellous piece of collaborative working; especially with regards to how quickly they all fitted in and became part of our team. I have been truly humbled by the care and compassion shown to both our patients and staff by our military colleagues."