National Healthcare Estates and Facilities Day
It's National Healthcare Estates and Facilities Day!
Today, we will be celebrating all our Estates and Facilities teams that support patient, staff and visitor care, as well as ensuring the safety of everyone on site at UHD. Keep an eye on our social media platforms as we show you the different teams that help keep UHD running and operational.
The work of our Estates and Facilities teams is often going on behind the scenes, but they are the foundational support system to the NHS. From the catering service providing thousands of meals, to our security teams ensuring the safety of everyone on site, all are vital in the smooth running of the UHD.
Head of Operations at UHD, Stuart Willes, has stated how “we are proud and want to recognise and celebrate the dedication of staff in these key service professions. Their tireless work ensures that our hospitals are safe and welcoming, while enabling our clinical teams to deliver the best possible care to our patients through the essential support services they provide.”
To begin the recognition, we will be looking at our Estates Management team, who keep our hospitals running, ensuring all sites are safe, compliant, and operational. They handle general building maintenance, development projects, and environmental sustainability, such as driving the ‘Green UHD’ plan to reduce carbon emissions.
They oversee major renovations and maintenance work, while enforcing health and safety standards, as well as Infection Prevention & Control guidelines, during their essential construction work.
Thank you, Estates Management team, for your resilience and endless hard work!
Catering services:
As part of National Healthcare Estates and Facilities day, we are celebrating our CateringTeam!
The Catering service team manages food operations across all our hospital sites, ensuing patients, staff and visitors are fed and looked after. They supply patients on wards with hot, nutritious meals, as well as providing light snacks to keep patients fed and looked after outside of standard mealtimes.
They are also incredibly accommodating in catering for special dietary, allergy, religious, and medical requirements for everyone on site. Moreover, they not only make and serve the food, but they also deliver it to patients on wards and provide them with other snacks and drinks when asked.
“We recognise and appreciate their dedication, determination and resilience that goes into playing their vital role in supporting patient care across the UHD,” Stuart Willes, Head of Operations at UHD has stated. Without their endless work and support, recovery time would be much longer and UHD couldn’t function without them.
Thank you, Catering Team, for everything you do for the UHD!
Housekeeping:
National Healthcare Estates and Facilities Day is an opportunity for us as a Trust to celebrate and recognise the fundamental work of all our E&F teams and services do for UHD and its staff, patients and visitors.
Our Housekeeping Team helps maintain a clean, safe and comfortable environment for everyone on our sites. They are able to enforce Infection Prevention through their high cleaning standards, not only on wards, but every section of every hospital in the UHD. This means our patients can feel safe and comfortable while spending time in our facility.
“Their commitment, often going on behind the scenes, is fundamental in creating secure and trustworthy environments and is felt by every patient,” Stuart Willes, Head of Operations at UHD has described.
Thank you, Housekeeping team, for your vital contribution to the UHD!
Porters and Security:
We’re celebrating our teams and services for National Healthcare Estates and Facilities Day!
Our Porters team ensure that patients and visitors get to where they are going and know how to navigate our sites, and our Security team make sure everyone on our sites is safe and feels protected.
Our Porters help in transporting and moving patients between wards and departments, always making sure they are looked after, know what is going on and have someone with them for support. They also help in transporting essential medical equipment, furniture and supplies, always assisting colleagues in their time of need. They help connect departments together and keep hospitals moving.
Our Security team can be found patrolling our sites across UHD, ensuring everyone feels safe when moving around the buildings. They also respond quickly and efficiently to any emergency that becomes known to them, and we as a Trust are so thankful to have round the clock peace of mind.
Stuart Willes, Head of Operations at UHD describes how “they all play an instrumental role in keeping our patients and staff safe and supported.”
Thank you, Porters and Security teams, for your constant care and support!
Post Room & Linen Services:
We have so many brilliant teams who form the backbone for the UHD, and we are proud to be celebrating them as part of National Healthcare Estates and Facilities Day!
Our Post Room team handles the mail and documents throughout the hospital, ensuring they are delivered quickly and effectively. Moreover, our Linen Services team ensures clean bedding and textiles are always available to staff and patients, making sure health and safety guidelines are always met.
By managing all the mail and documents to well, the Post Room team keep departments connected and keep communication flowing. This means staff can be kept up to date and deliver the best care to our patients.
The Linen Services team efficiently keep on top of stock levels, collect used linen and distribute clean sheets, pillowcases, towels, and uniforms. They are then able to maintain hygiene standards and ensure every patient gets the best possible care and feels comfortable when in our care.
“Their work underpins everything that we do, providing the foundations that enable our hospitals to function 24 hours a day, 365 days a year,” describes Stuart Willes, Head of Operations at UHD.
Thank you, Post Room and Linen Services teams, for all your hard work!
Inventory Management:
To wrap up our National Healthcare Estates and Facilities Day, we are celebrating our Inventory Management team!
Our Inventory Management team makes sure wards and departments have the supplies they need to provide the best patient care. By monitoring inventory levels, they can effectively restock wards and clinical areas and therefore reduce waste and prevent shortages.
They support every ward in the hospital, ensuring care never stops and keeps healthcare moving. They make care possible.
All these teams are essential in smooth running of the UHD, and we are so thankful to every team for their hard work and endless support. “Together, these teams play a crucial role in supporting UHD, working behind the scenes and on the front line to support patients, visitors and staff every day,” Stuart Willes, Head of Operations at UHD has stated.
Thank you for following along for National Healthcare Estates and Facilities Day!
Industrial action suspended
Please note, the industrial action by resident doctors planned for 15-19 June has been suspended.
If your appointment was postponed in the run up to the planned action, we will be in touch with you.
We are sorry for any inconvenience caused.
UHD joins forces with leading cancer care company to bring £50m boost to NHS patients
University Hospitals Dorset (UHD) is partnering with GenesisCare UK to provide private cancer services to patients across Dorset, bringing more than £50m in investment into NHS cancer care over the next 20 years.
GenesisCare will develop a state-of-the-art private patient facility delivering radiotherapy and Systemic Anti-Cancer Therapy (SACT) services at Poole Hospital. This will include chemotherapy and immunotherapy and will be for patients with medical insurance or those wishing to self-pay. This additional investment, alongside UHD’s existing funding, will increase capacity, help patients begin treatment sooner, and fund the recruitment of additional consultants to support NHS care.
As a result of UHD’s transformation programme, space became available at Poole Hospital and local cancer doctors spotted an opportunity to use this to help improve patient services, while creating a new income stream for the Trust.
Dr Ben Masters, lead oncologist at UHD, said “The deal is really beneficial to our NHS as the income generated can be reinvested in NHS care. We can also use GenesisCare’s expertise to benefit patients here in Dorset.
“GenesisCare’s bid stood out because of their focus on exemplary patient care, the latest innovations in evidence-based treatments, research and committing to long-term resources that enables the recruitment of more NHS staff.”
Paul Gearing, Chief Growth Officer from GenesisCare, said: “We are thrilled that University Hospital Dorset selected GenesisCare as its partner of choice, and we’re proud to bring UHD into the GenesisCare family. By combining local clinical excellence with the benefit of GenesisCare's national network of expertise we will create something very special that will deliver tangible benefits to both the NHS and to patients wanting to access private cancer care.
“This is an exciting milestone for GenesisCare and a significant investment into the future of cancer care in Dorset. We have long believed there is a strong demand for greater access to private cancer services in the region, and this partnership creates a unique opportunity to meet that need with a purpose built, dedicated private patient unit, located alongside the NHS, delivering the latest radiotherapy and systemic anti-cancer therapies.”
GenesisCare and UHD are finalising the designs for this state-of-the-art facility with a view to offering this dedicated private cancer service closer to home from Autumn 2027.
About GenesisCare
GenesisCare UK is the UK’s leading cancer care provider, specialising in the treatment of complex cancers and transforming cancer care with advanced diagnostics, medical oncology, radiotherapy and Theranostics. Operating 14 specialist outpatient centres, with additional centres opening in Leeds and Royal Tunbridge Wells in 2026, we provide patients with world-class care from the UK's top clinical and healthcare teams, and deliver the most advanced, safe and effective cancer care treatments. With a philosophy of treating the whole patient not just their cancer, we take an integrated approach to cancer care, including Exercise Medicine which is proven to improve patient’s tolerance for treatment and aids their long-term recovery. We also work with universities and leading clinicians around the world, to research and design new and better ways to treat cancers and have a growing UK clinical trials programme to support bringing new therapies to more patients. Treatments are available for patients with health insurance and those paying for their own care.
Staff shine bright at UHD Awards
Uplifting examples of inspiring care, teamwork and leadership were all celebrated at University Hospital Dorset’s (UHD) fourth annual awards on Thursday.
More than 350 members of staff and hospital volunteers attended the event at The Pavilion in Bournemouth on 11 June to hear how the finalists were placed in each of 15 categories. They were also joined by patients and the local community who put forward staff for recognition.
The awards scheme received over a record-breaking 1,200 nominations this year, giving the judging panel a real challenge and shining a spotlight on the amazing work across UHD.
Chief Executive, Siobhan Harrington, said: “The awards are a fantastic opportunity to recognise the incredible teams across our Trust. Their hard work and commitment are invaluable and make a difference every day.
"It’s great to be able to come together and celebrate all that is great about UHD. We all come to work to provide the very best care for our patients, and special events like this give us an opportunity to recognise our achievements the impact we have.
“A huge thank you to all patients and colleagues who made a nomination, and to our UHD NHS Charity, Locum’s Nest and Westmade for supporting this brilliant evening.”
This month marks one year since the Outpatients Assessment Centre (OAC) opened its doors at St Mary's Hospital.
Following the successful relocation from the former Beales (Dolphin Centre) site in June 2025, St Mary's has rapidly developed into a key outpatient and diagnostic hub for University Hospitals Dorset, supporting both Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC) and outpatient activity from a single site.
Today, the site provides access to 19 outpatient clinic rooms, two ultrasound rooms, five ophthalmology lanes, two phlebotomy rooms, two procedure rooms and DEXA scanning facilities. The co-location of outpatient, diagnostic and procedure services has created opportunities to deliver more efficient pathways, reduce patient journeys and improve the overall patient experience.
Over the past year, St Mary's has supported the delivery of more than 37,000 CDC patient appointments despite the complexities of relocating services from the Beales (Dolphin Centre) site. Activity is expected to continue growing, with plans to deliver over 42,000 CDC appointments during 2026/27.
One of the most significant developments has been the introduction of dedicated procedure rooms, supporting the transfer of suitable minor procedures away from main theatre environments and enabling the development of innovative one-stop pathways. Examples include the Urology One-Stop Service, Elective Hand Hub and Dermatology Rapid Access Clinic, with further one-stop services currently being developed.
Thank you to all our clinical, administrative, operational, estates, digital and volunteer colleagues whose hard work, flexibility and commitment have helped make St Mary's a success over the past 12 months.
Happy First Birthday, St Mary's OAC – and here's to the next chapter.
