Staff at Royal Bournemouth Hospital is doing “every single thing" it can to fight against ongoing pressures.

Staff shortages, higher patient numbers and the ongoing effects of Covid are just some of challenges being faced by University Hospitals Dorset (UHD) in the run up to winter.

But whilst pressures may be more noticeable at emergency departments, with long wait times and queuing ambulances, there are struggles across the board.

Sue Whitney, deputy group director of operations, explained the actions being taken across every department.

She said: “The whole system within the organisation is like one stream of a patient’s pathway.

"We’re all doing every single thing that we can do.

“We’re trying to take actions that will make a difference in the long term.

"We’re trying to deal with the here and now in the best and safest way we can, but also develop other services to allow us to treat people in a different way.”

One concept currently in discussion is that of a ‘virtual ward’, where patients would be added to a virtual system, and remotely monitored and cared for by staff.

It has hoped that the service will help to clear beds, which are currently in shortage at the hospital.

Bournemouth Echo: Sue Whitney, deputy group director of operations,. Sue Whitney, deputy group director of operations,. (Image: NQ)

Sue said: “People will appear on our board as a UHD patient, but they’re not actually in a hospital bed, they’re in a virtual system. There’s a level of remote monitoring. They retain under the care of UHD.

“It’s got so many benefits for us, the patients, the relatives.

“We hope to have our first patients in there in November.”

Read more: Bournemouth and Poole hospitals are under 'extreme pressure'

Elsewhere at Royal Bournemouth hospital, John West, general manager at trauma and orthopaedics, has challenged his department to complete more surgeries in shorter time frames to whittle down the patient waiting lists.

He said: “There are thousands of people on our waiting list, across Dorset and across England, waiting for orthopaedic surgery.

“There’s no denying the lists have gone up, and we can’t change that, but what we can do is use it as an opportunity to do things differently.

“There’s no option to be negative. The only way to improve is to be optimistic about the future, and accept that where we are isn’t good enough, but whatever challenges come in the next months and years, we will face them with a positive outlook and look for ways to improve. “