DCH emergency and medical care rated ‘good’

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has rated urgent and emergency care, and medical care, at Dorset County Hospital (DCH) as ‘good’ following an inspection.

An inspection was carried out at the Dorchester hospital in January 2026 as part of the CQC’s continual checks on the safety and quality of services.

Quality and medical leads at DCH are pleased that the hard work of staff to maintain high standards and to make improvements at a time when their services have been under significant ongoing pressure has been recognised by inspectors.

The overall rating for Dorset County Hospital also remains ‘good’.

Chief Nursing Officer for Dorset County Hospital and Dorset HealthCare Dawn Dawson said: “I am delighted that our urgent and emergency care services and medical care have been rated as ‘good’ by the Care Quality Commission following their recent inspection.

“The rating reflects the way in which our dedicated, professional, compassionate teams provide safe, high-quality care for our patients. I’m pleased that inspectors recognised the improvements that have already been made, and we will continue to build on this as we work towards opening our new Emergency Department and Critical Care Unit next year.”

DCH Chief Medical Officer Rachel Wharton said: “Our teams work incredible hard in challenging circumstances to manage rising demand and provide the very best care they can to our patients and their families. It’s heartening to see that this has been recognised by inspectors.

“We look forward to being able to make further improvements to our facilities and services with the opening of the new Emergency Department and Critical Care Unit.”

The report is available on the Care Quality Commission’s website.