The dilemma of hospital waiting lists is never far from the top of current news bulletins and now University Hospitals Dorset wants to know what you think about the problem.

Over the last year, many non-emergency operations and procedures across the NHS had to be cancelled or postponed because of Covid-19. The trust says it is working hard to prioritise its lists and will be contacting patients waiting for appointments at the Royal Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch hospitals via text message or letter to obtain further details.

If you receive one of these messages, please respond so hospital staff can help you with your care. The hospitals would like to assure you that their communication will only ever ask questions relating to your care; they will never ask for bank details or reference to money or payment; they will never ask you for your name or address, however you will be able to update your details if they are not correct and their message will include a unique pin and they will ask you to input your date of birth only to log in. A business reply address in Macclesfield will be supplied – this is where their team is collating your responses.

Neurology patients are among those being sent messages.

Jonathan Wright, head of patient access, said: “We know how long some patients have been waiting and we know how hard this can be. We are determined to do everything we can to help work through our waiting list as quickly as possible. Contacting patients digitally will enable us to do this as efficiently as possible so please do respond when you receive a message from University Hospitals Dorset.”