PLANS to deliver a new area for operating theatres at Poole Hospital have taken a step forward with the submission of more detailed proposals by health bosses.

The scheme for the Longfleet Road site involves the demolition of temporary buildings and extending the existing hospital.

The latest full application to BCP Council follows the approval of an outline proposal, which successfully obtained permission for the access, scale and layout of the development in September 2019.

Council officers approved the initial application despite it attracting more than 500 letters of objection.

The scheme by the hospital would ultimately form part of the £147 million reorganisation of NHS services in Dorset, with Poole Hospital functioning as a centre for planned treatment centre and Royal Bournemouth Hospital focusing on acute care.

A letter submitted by Steve Killen, programme director for the Dorset Acute Care Collaboration Vanguard, says: "The proposed development will allow Poole Hospital to better care for patients currently having surgery.

"The new operating theatres (referred to as barn theatres due to their flexibility and space), will allow trauma patients (such as those with broken hips) to be operated on in ultra-modern facilities which are safer and more efficient than the theatres in use today."

These additional theatres would lead to the closure of the existing day theatres, which were built in the 1960s.

Mr Killen's letter says the extension would allow for larger day case and trauma theatre facilities.

"Planning permission, for the proposed development, will take us an important step closer to delivering the physical extension to Poole Hospital in order to secure the long-term future of Poole Hospital as the major planned care hospital and deliver the shorter term replacement of the Day Case Theatres," added Mr Killen.

A planning statement from Savills on behalf of Poole Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, said since the approved outline application was submitted in June 2019, further work had found the requirements to accommodate plant, services and other infrastructure exceed the ‘scale’ parameters that had been granted.

The statement added: "Rather than submit a further outline application, this application now provides the details of the access, scale, layout and appearance of the proposed development and is therefore a ‘full’ planning application."

The shake-up of hospital services in Dorset has been met with a barrage of opposition from campaigners since the Clinical Services Review was launched several years ago.

A total of 626 public comments were made in response to last year's outline application for the extension of Poole Hospital and 528 of these were objections but the council said “the vast majority” did not raise planning points and had been discounted.