THERE’S less than three weeks to go until the close of The Big Ask, an Echo-backed survey which aims to shape the future of local healthcare services.

More than 4,000 responses have been received from across the county so far predominantly from Bournemouth and Poole.

Now healthcare bosses are calling residents from the west and north of Dorset, Purbeck, and users of Dorset NHS services in west Hampshire to come forward and complete more surveys before the deadline on September 9.

Dr Forbes Watson, chair of the NHS Dorset Clinical Commissioning Group, says: “To already have such a weighty response is reassuring and we can see that patient choice is a priority for a large proportion of our population. It is however critical that we gain as much information as possible from the county’s diverse geographic spread. Whether you are rurally based or in a town environment your view is important to us; we need to have as broad an input to this study as possible. And anyone can take part.”

More than 12,000 homes have already received the survey by post but it can also be completed online at bournemouth.ac.uk/ thebigask.

For paper copies contact Ehren Milner at Bournemouth University’s Market Research Group on 01202 961379 or via emilner@bournemouth.ac.uk. The feedback will be published in the autumn.

Dr Watson adds: “This is an important piece of local healthcare research which has never been undertaken so comprehensively before, with all the NHS partners across the county working together. It shows clearly that we all put the local patient first in terms of how health services should be made available to them, now and in the years to come.”

For more information visit bournemouthecho/health or for more NHS news visit Twitter @healthydorset or on Facebook at facebook.com/healthyDorset.