Hi all,
Here’s to a better 2020 for us all!
I am considering relocating to Dorset and my husband is worried about my ongoing treatment for MPA (currently on remission not on any meds) and also following my heart attack in November 2019. (Now back on a variety of meds)!
Does anyone know where in Dorset there is a good hospital which can cater for my needs?
This will help us to decide which area to move to! Ideally not too far from the sea!
INot an easy question to answer as we all have different experiences. I am searching for diagnosis two years on to symptoms and ongoing, living in London before I’d say healthcare better there but that’s not to say you wouldn’t find the right support here.thats only my experience and others will have differing opinions. Experiences are different for everyone and specialists work in different areas all the time so your best bet might be to ask a medic you see now but there really is no simple answer , it’s part luck of the draw and you are afforded healthcare wherever you are it’s just how you experience and interpret it .
Does anyone know? I think only you would be able to judge for yourself. Good and bad anywhere and everywhere, one person may recommend ,another not but good luck if you do move , any hospital should cater for your needs .👍
Nowhere in Dorset is far from the sea 😂👍
Thank you for replying. It’s more a case of knowing what’s hospitals cater for Vasculitis so I can concentrate on looking in that area. Whereabouts are you based?
Southampton and Poole are the bigger of hospitals. Dorchester is where I am but there are other hospitals. A lot of people do travel to specialist if need be out of area 👍 and I have travelled to Poole/Bournemouth and southampton myself as they are the biggies that the smaller hospitals seem to refer you too and with closures of local services as is happening everywhere I believe.
I can't help with info about the Dorset hospitals but I would say go to the east rather than the west which is very poorly served with major hospitals and an emergency would entail a journey along very busy roads at any time and during the holiday season even blue lights means it can be an hour to A&E.
A friend of mine attends Portsmouth for cardiac problems and says they are amazing. However - she still is in contact with her previous rheumatologist from when she lived in Basingstoke but I don't know if that is a reflection of the local rheumatology services.
That’s a good point! From my research it does appear as though the only hospital with a nephrology unit is Dorset County Hospital in Dorchester !
My daughter is a paramedic and lives in Whitby in a flat we rent to her. It would be a delightful retirement or holiday flat - she has forbidden us to even think of using it!! It is 45 mins on blue lights across the moors on a good day to either hospital - not ideal for a patient having a stroke or MI. And let's face it: you do have to think of these things when you have a chronic illness or are getting older. Having driven from west to east Dorset via Dorchester it is a long drive to visit more than once in a while even in the depths of non-holiday season!
Probably rheumatology at dorchester county leaves a lot to be desired, though other departments are better.
Ok thanks I’ll bear that in mind. Not sure if or when we will move now with everything as it is at the moment. Had hoped to be halfway there by now!
I’m cared for by a brilliant team of Rheumatologists at the Bath Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases (RNHRD). Nothing too much trouble
I should think moving to Dorset will make you feel better straight away. A beautiful county. I wish I could move there. We holiday there every year. Wishing you best wishes for 2020
I attend the Queen Alexander hospital in Portsmouth and have been told by medics there that it is the Wessex regional centre for vasculitis treatment. I am treated by the renal and rheumatology departments and I cannot praise them enough for the care they have given me since I became seriously ill with the disease five years ago.
If you moved to West Dorset or East Devon you could attend the Royal Devon & Exeter hospital where there are two Vasculitis specialists.
I think there is a Vasculitis support group in Portsmouth...perhaps you could contact them via the Vasculitis UK website?
Portsmouth's Queen Elizabeth Hospital is the Wessex regional centre for Vasculitis. I am being treated there and I can't praise it highly enough. I've been treated by consultants from several different specialities and they seem to communicate very effectively with one another.
Check the hospitals in Poole and Bournemouth. My friend who passed through chemo therapy was going to Bournemouth to do that. Unfortunately, I don’t remember the name of the hospital, but the google should have this information for sure. By they way if you are looking for a moving company who will help you with packing and a fast relocation then follow the following link removalslondon.co.uk. They have the best prices, a welcoming customer support and team, clean vans, packing service and storage options as well. Also, they don’t have extra costs for loading and unloading. I would find it comfortable in case I’d be in the same situation as you are now. I hope I gave you a hand and I wish you to get well soon in a new location.
Yes, thank you. I have heard good reports for Bournemouth.
I agree asking your consultant. When I was first put in touch with Prof Jayne, I asked if there was someone nearer and he gave me a couple of names ‘nearby’. I decided to make the effort to go to Prof Jayne but I did feel confident that the two recommendees would be good as well. It is better to ask for a Vasculitis specialist as you know (rather than a rheumatologist). Sorry I dont know Dorset from a consultant point of view. Good luck.
To ill to live to poor to die 
Worried about my Dad again
Vasculitis and Acute Pancreatitis
