THE “hard work” of staff at Dorset County Hospital (DCH) has been attributed to the centre’s latest Care Quality Commission (CQC) rating.
Urgent and emergency care, and medical care at the Dorchester hospital has been rated ‘good’ following an inspection carried out in January 2026 as part of the CQC’s continual checks on the safety and quality of services. The overall rating for DCH also remains ‘good’.
DCH Chief Medical Officer Rachel Wharton said: “Our teams work incredibly 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.
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“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.”
Quality and medical leads at the hospital said the rating comes at a time when their services have been under significant ongoing pressure and are pleased the hard work of staff to maintain high standards and to make improvements has been recognised by inspectors.
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.”
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