Patients to benefit from new community clinic

A new clinic to support patients with respiratory conditions has opened in Poole, providing assessment and management of symptoms in one local hub.

Based in University Hospital Dorset’s (UHD) Outpatients Assessment Centre on the former St Mary’s Maternity Unit site, the clinic aims to bring specialist diagnostics such as spirometry and lung function tests closer to the community, treating a range of conditions including asthma and COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease).

The service is part of a Community Diagnostic Centres Programme, with UHD working alongside three local Primary Care Networks; Poole Central Primary Care Network, Shore Medical, and Poole North Primary Care Network, to tackle waiting lists and provide a dedicated clinic for all tests to be undertaken in one place.

Anna Szyfner, Operational and Performance Manager for the Outpatient Assessment Centre, said: “It’s fantastic to see how this service is already making a difference for our patients. By bringing respiratory testing into a more accessible location at St Mary’s, with convenient parking and drop-off access, and supporting the clinics through our Outpatients Team, we’re showing what real collaboration between primary and secondary care can achieve. I’m proud to be part of a project that is improving access and delivering high-quality, patient-centred care."