Stroke Team celebrates national award nomination
A patient-led approach to improving stroke services has earned the Stroke Team at University Hosptals Dorset a national award nomination.
The team has been shortlisted in the ‘Emerging Good Practice’ category at the Picker Experience Network (PEN) Awards, recognising its commitment to working in partnership with patients and the public to enhance stroke care.
As part of the project, the team recently hosted an experience-based co-design workshop at Christchurch Hospital, bringing together more than 20 people who had received thrombolysis, alongside others with lived experience of stroke care and treatment.
L-R: Antony Smith-Stroke Nurse Consultant | Tanya Davies-Stroke Quality and Performance Manager | Stephanie Heath-Stroke Nurse
Stephanie Heath, Stroke Nurse, said: "The workshop was a huge success. It gave us the opportunity to listen to our patients and recognise that they are the experts in their own experiences, becoming true partners in helping us design higher-quality services that deliver what really matters to patients.
"It also gave our team a chance to have meaningful conversations with people about their experiences of stroke services away from clinic and ward environments. Staff really valued these unique insights into aspects of stroke care that they may not have considered before."
The work forms part of a national programme aimed at improving access to acute stroke treatments and enhancing patient pathways, including the use of thrombolysis, an emergency medicine that can help restore blood flow to the brain following certain types of stroke.
The team hopes the project will continue to strengthen stroke services across Dorset while ensuring patients remain at the heart of future improvements.
Antony Smith, Stroke Nurse Consultant, said: "Bringing stroke services together at the Royal Bournemouth Hospital has created a single specialist team and a more consistent pathway for patients requiring emergency stroke treatment. This has enabled us to focus quality improvement work on one service and apply learning more consistently.
"It also means that feedback from patients through initiatives such as this co-design event can be translated into improvements across the entire hyperacute stroke pathway."
Antony added: "The biggest message we want people to remember is not just recognising the symptoms of a stroke, but acting immediately. Even one FAST symptom is enough to call 999.
"When it comes to stroke, every minute matters because rapid treatment can dramatically improve outcomes and reduce disability."
Join us for our Annual Members' Meeting 2026
University Hospitals Dorset’s (UHD) Annual Members’ Meeting (AMM) will be held at 10am on Thursday 24 September 2026.
The event, which will also be live streamed via Microsoft Teams, will include presentations from Chief Executive, Siobhan Harrington, and Chief Finance Officer, Pete Papworth, on the 2025/26 Annual Report and Accounts, and 2026/27 forward plan.
Our external auditors, KPMG, will present their External Audit Findings, followed by amendments to the Trust Constitution presented by our Director of Corporate Governance.
Michele Whitehurst, Lead Governor, will also give a presentation from the Council of Governors (CoG).
The meeting agenda can be found here.
To view the minutes of the Annual Members' Meeting 2025 please click here.
There will be an understanding health talk on Looking ahead: Big changes in the year ahead and shaping the future of your Trust over the next five years with Dr Isabel Smith, Medical Director Strategy and Transformation and Richard Renaut, Chief Strategy and Transformation Officer. This will take place immediately after the AMM.
The meeting will be held in The Patient First Improvement Hub, Christchurch Hospital, Fairmile Road, Christchurch BH23 2JX.
Parking and bus routes
There will be free parking in car park A at Christchurch Hospital. Bus route:24, New Forest Breezer 81 and 82.
Booking
Booking is encouraged due to limited capacity. Any information regarding accessibility requirements should be given when booking your place. Please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with names and contact details of who would like to attend or call 0300 019 8723.
Submitting questions
If you would like to submit a question at the AMM, please also send this to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by Thursday 17 September. Questions submitted in advance will be prioritised at the meeting.
The Royal Bournemouth Hospital is benefitting from an exciting new artwork at the BEACH Building, unveiled on Wednesday 29 July.
University Hospitals Dorset and the hospitals’ Charity commissioned south coast studio, Orakel Workshop, for the project following a public vote and detailed selection process by local community and NHS staff.
Led by site-specific artist and designer Jac Seifert, the artwork adds a sense of calm and creativity to the exterior of the BEACH Building, a six-storey unit housing emergency services, critical care, maternity and children’s units set on the Royal Bournemouth Hospital site.
Jac is known for creating vibrant designs inspired by people and places, and this piece ‘From the tide to the trees’, celebrates nature and local beauty spots from across the area served by University Hospital Dorset, all nominated by NHS staff and local people. Applied to the east wall, the artwork serves as a welcoming focus point for the BEACH Building’s entrance while providing a peaceful environment for patients, staff and visitors.
Jac Seifert, Orakel Workshop said: “I am very grateful for the opportunity to have worked on this exciting project. I really enjoyed exploring the diverse natural landscapes of South East Dorset and what these extraordinary coastal and forest locations mean to the people who live here and I hope that the artwork reflects people's connection to the areas' beauty and colour.”
Debbie Anderson, Charity Director for University Hospitals Dorset NHS Charity, said: “University Hospitals Dorset NHS Charity is committed to providing a welcoming uplifting environment for patients, visitors and staff using a varied and stimulating arts programme. Funding from the charity goes above and beyond NHS core funding to deliver improved patient and staff outcomes. We hope that funding this flagship art installation will be a catalyst for donors to support further pieces of art throughout our hospital sites.”
The project is part of a broader arts strategy across the Royal Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch hospitals to include initiatives with regional artists, schools, colleges and universities. There will also be opportunities for patients and staff to participate in visual art, music and dance activities, which have been proven to support wellbeing and reduce recovery time.
Laura Joy, University Hospitals Dorset’s Arts Manager, added: “We have been incredibly lucky to have Jac co-create this public artwork with NHS staff, local cultural and heritage professionals, and wider community members. Art has the power to transform spaces and lift spirits. Jac has added a burst of colour and creativity to the BEACH Building. It’s the perfect way to paint a picture of hope for our community, and for the future of our hospitals.”
Hospitals launch pioneering digital tool to improve alcohol withdrawal care
Clinical, digital and nursing teams at University Hospitals Dorset (UHD) have created an electronic alcohol withdrawal assessment, enabling them to better identify patients in need of support.
Nursing teams use the electronic CIWA - the Clinical Institute Withdrawal Assessment for alcohol - to identify patients who may be at risk of alcohol withdrawal when they first come on to the ward. Once identified, UHD’s specialist addiction team can then support nursing colleagues and remotely monitor patients on the CIWA pathway, intervening quickly if required.
After two years of development, testing and refinement, the assessment was officially launched in July. Within the first two weeks, more than 100 patients across Poole and the Royal Bournemouth Hospital were identified as being at risk of alcohol withdrawal and were started on the electronic CIWA pathway.
Lucie Chetwynd, Lead Specialist Addiction Nurse, said: “If not managed properly, alcohol withdrawal can have very serious consequences for patients. Having a digital solution to this important assessment means we can act quickly if medication is overdue, for example, or intervene where necessary.
“It’s having a big impact already and has also raised awareness around addictions in general.”
Helen Turner, Clinical Digital Nurse, added: “The eform is easier to audit and speeds up the whole process. We’ve had really positive feedback from our nurses on the wards and this now paves the way forward for other assessments for other teams.
“This is a great example of collaboration and how clinical, digital and nursing teams work together to make a difference to patients.”
Lab tours for young patients launch at Poole Hospital
11-year old Ollie has become the first child to take part in a Harvey's Lab Tour at Poole Hospital.
The tours are a national initiative from the Institute of Biomedical Scientists, named after a young patient who sought to know more about his hospital treatment. They aim to help children understand the role of biomedical science in their diagnosis and treatment through lab visits and interactive resources.
The team, led by senior biomedical scientist, Stephanie Brolan, welcomed Ollie along with his mum and dad for a visit to Poole’s Pathology Department in July.
Ollie with his mum and dad, and members of Poole's Pathology Team
Ollie’s mum, Hannah, said: “Ollie regularly visits Poole Hospital for blood tests following his liver transplant, which will have taken place 10 years ago this August, at Kings College Hospital.
"The team was able to answer all questions Ollie had prepared, and he really enjoyed the ‘hands on’ parts of the tour such as spinning bloods, testing for acid or alkaloid levels, using the microscope and seeing the different blood groups."
"Hopefully this experience will help him overcome his fears in the future, and the opportunity for these tours will be great for other young patients."
Stephanie said: “It was wonderful to welcome Ollie to Poole, giving us a unique chance to bring patient interactions into the laboratory.
He was able to see how samples arrive within the laboratory and how they are checked for suitability before visiting biochemistry, haematology and blood transfusions. We focused on areas within the laboratory that would have been used when we were caring for Ollie."
"The team and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and want to build on this success so more children can feel connected to their healthcare journey."
