What local people have told us

Your voice matters to us and we have been listening to what you have been saying!

We have looked at what local people have said to us across twenty surveys and reports over the last four years – by the NHS, local councils, voluntary and community sector, and Healthwatch Dorset. And we have recently held dozens of meetings and conversations during 2022 to help us to understand what local people would like. Thank you to everyone who has allowed us to listen to you.

You have made it clear that you would like us to:

  • Listen more

  • Work more with local people to improve health and care services

  • Work closer together

How you can get involved and share your voice

We want to make it easy for you to get involved and give us your views. There are many opportunities to have your say and influence local healthcare decisions and make sure you don’t miss out on future opportunities as well!

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Patient Participation Groups

Patient Participation Groups (PPGs) provide an opportunity for local people to get involved with their practice and influence the provision of local health services. Members contribute their views, make suggestions and provide feedback on services they may have used. Groups can also get involved with supporting local health initiatives.

Maternity Voices

Maternity Voices is an initiative that aims to involve women and their families in the development of local maternity services. We want Dorset’s maternity service to be the best it can be, which means that it must meet the needs of those using the service. Women and their partners must be shown that their voices and experiences matter.

Maternity Voices on Maternity Matters Dorset website

Dorset Maternity Voices page on Facebook

Dorset Maternity Voices Community Group on Facebook

Social media

Stay connected with us on social! 

Keep up-to-date with the latest news and opportunities to get involved by following us on social media!

Our groups

Over the years we have worked with local partners to create some stakeholder groups involving local people to help inform projects, plans and proposals.

The PEG is made up of 25 local people who have a wealth of lived experience across Dorset’s geography, demography, and diversity.

The key role of the PEG is to provide advice, guidance and challenge on public engagement that is being planned across the system, to ensure that Dorset informs and involves local people when developing and delivering future health and care services in an appropriate and proportionate way.

Find out more. 

The NHS in Dorset has been developing new digital applications to support our services in many different ways and we believe it is vital that patients, carers and the wider public have the opportunity to provide their views and feedback on what we are planning now, and how these online services will be provided in future.

For this reason, a Digital Public Engagement Group was formed in 2021 with a diverse membership of over 50 people. Members meet bi-monthly to provide advice, guidance and challenge to inform public engagement across Dorset for Digital Health Technology to help ensure people can manage and monitor their condition to enable them to live well.

Find out more.

Our local groups we work with

As part of the new Our Dorset Integrated Care System, partners across health, local councils and the voluntary and community sector in Dorset are leading on developing a Joint Citizens Panel.

This panel will be a voluntary, representative body through which residents and communities can give their views on the services we all provide. Members will be invited to take part in a range of activities – usually surveys, but also focus groups, workshops and committees to discuss issues in more detail. Through the panel we can consistently listen to the feedback and experiences of residents and communities to identify and understand their priorities and to act on the insights gained to develop services. We also want to provide the opportunity for more community-led conversations to explore needs and priorities and to work together towards solutions.

The Voluntary and Community sector plays a crucial role in improving in supporting and improving good quality health and care to the people of Dorset. That’s why Dorset’s NHS and councils are putting an agreement in place to involve the VCS in the decision-making and planning of health and care services.

Dorset VCSA PowerPoint

Find out more: Dorset VCS Assembly – Our Dorset

The Dorset Youth Representative Group was set up by NHS Dorset’s public engagement team in November 2020 as a way to network and link up with people who work with children and young people across the county. The aim of the group is to keep people up to date with children and young people’s services and opportunities for involvement and ultimately keep young people’s voices at the heart of decision making.

The group meets every two months and has over 50 members from across the system (including Dorset Youth Association, Chatterboxes, Parent Carer groups, BCP and Dorset Council, Dorset Police and many more). These people all work with young people and act as a representative/conduit.