Health, social care and therapy teams across the Isle of Purbeck have been recognised for their efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The local community has presented them with a ‘Purbeck Petal’ brooch, which was designed by Dorset HealthCare’s advanced nurse practitioner and Purbeck Hub lead Sally Hill, who is based in Wareham. It was funded by the Friends of Wareham Hospital and represents the integrated approach that has been adopted across NHS and social care within Purbeck.

Sally said, “The centre of the brooch is a love heart which represents the patient, and the different coloured petals represent all the services that feed into the patient’s journey, putting them at the heart of everything we do.”

A total of 500 badges were produced and presented to team representatives by Brad Rootes, Dorset HealthCare’s locality manager for Purbeck, Sally Hill and Maggie Hardy, chairman of The Friends of Wareham Hospital.

All staff across the Purbeck providing care and support during the COVID-19 pandemic were included, from frontline staff based in both community and hospital settings to volunteers, administrative staff and cleaners.

Friends chairman, Maggie Hardy, said, “We were delighted and honoured to be asked by Sally to fund her kind and thoughtful Purbeck Petal initiative, recognising the way the staff are working during these unprecedented times.”