Major development is to take place at University Hospital Dorset over the weekend of 30 July to 2 August – all part of a £250m investment in healthcare funding.

There will be new site access arrangements at Royal Bournemouth Hospital and temporary road closures at the Poole Hospital site.

The works are part of a major reorganisation of services across the county which will see Royal Bournemouth Hospital becoming the centre for emergency care, with Poole Hospital becoming the main centre for planned treatment in east Dorset.

At Royal Bournemouth Hospital, from 2 August new access arrangements will be in place as part of the major construction project to create the new maternity, children’s, emergency, and critical care centre on the site. From that date the current main entrance will close with a new upgraded west entrance opened as well as a new retail pharmacy and orthopaedics outpatients on site. Linked to the development, a comprehensive information campaign has been developed including an updated site map to showcase the changes.

At Poole Hospital, a small section of Longfleet Road will be closed from 30 July to 2 August to allow for the installation of a new 50m tower crane ahead of the construction of the new theatre complex. The closure has been coordinated with BCP Council’s highways department, traffic management specialists, the emergency services, and teams across the hospital to maintain the best traffic and pedestrian access as possible. Diversions will be in place for through traffic, with hospital access for ambulances and pedestrians maintained over the weekend.

Richard Renaut, UHD chief strategy and transformation officer said: “We’re sorry for the inconvenience that the busy weekend of diversions and changes to our entrances will cause – we are working closely with our contractors and council partners to ensure disruption is kept to an absolute minimum. “

Overall, the £250m investment is the largest commitment of healthcare funding in Dorset’s history.