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February 2022 February 2022
Find out more about the individual walks in your area contact Dorset Council’s
BERE REGIS Health & Activity Team by emailing dorsethealthwalks@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk.
SURGERY NEWS Dorset Health Walks are supported by Dorset Council’s Health and Activity team
and work in partnership with The Ramblers national programme of Wellbeing
Walks (previously Walking for Health).
Happy New Year!

We are really excited to share with you that Improved Recycling rates
from Monday 31 January 2022 patients
st
collecting medication will be able to do so Recently published figures from the
from our purpose built Dispensing hatch. This is situated on the side of the building Department for Environment, Food and
as you walk towards the tent. Please feel free to continue using the tent for Rural Affairs (DEFRA) show that Dorset
shelter when necessary for the time being whilst a permanent shelter is installed. Council’s recycling rate hit a record
high last year. For the 2020/21 fiscal
Because of the way medication and other items will be handed through this year, the latest DEFRA data shows that
hatch it’s not possible to have a safety screen in place, so we continue to ask the amount of waste that Dorset
that you wear a mask or face covering when you are served to ensure the safety Council sent for recycling, reuse or
of the dispensary staff and the environment they work in. Our staff will continue composting has risen from 58.9% to
do likewise to ensure your safety. 60.1%. Out of over 330 councils
nationwide, this makes us the 8th best
The dispensary and the dispensing
staff are a key part of the Practice performing council in England, and
and provide an indispensable 3rd top performing unitary council.
service to a significant number of Dorset residents have once again
our patients and is a service many proven to be excellent at putting the right stuff in the right bin, the fact is that
GP surgeries around the country do the Recycle for Dorset kerbside collection scheme continues to be a huge
not offer. Our highly trained success for the county. And with waste and recycling playing a key part in Dorset
dispensers work closely with the Council’s strategy to tackle the Climate and Ecological Emergency, it is more
Doctors, Pharmacists and Hospitals important than ever that we all continue working together to reduce, reuse and
to ensure the safety of our patients in recycle. Cllr Laura Miller, Dorset Council’s Portfolio Holder for Customer and
all aspects of medication and Community Services, said: “This is a phenomenal achievement considering the
prescriptions. In order to provide a size and rurality of our county. I want to thank all our Waste Services employees,
safe and efficient service during both front-line and office-based, for everything they do. Most of all, I want to give
these difficult times with numerous constraints such as staff shortages, medication a big thank you to the Dorset residents who, once again, have shown themselves
shortages and an significant increase in the number of items dispensed each to be amongst the best recyclers in England. Your efforts to put the right stuff in
month it may sometimes take slightly longer to ensure medications are made up the right bin not only help protect the environment but have saved millions of
and dispensed correctly. pounds that we can put towards other essential services.
Despite the incredibly hard work put in by the dispensing team we have had
some really unfortunate instances where patients have been overly critical and Bus back better
at times rude to our dispensing staff with the result that some of the team finding
they have been unable to cope with the unwarranted criticism and leaving for The Council has submitted its Bus Back Better improvement plan as part of the
pastures new further adding to the strains on the rest of the team. Government’s scheme to improve bus services across the country. We have
submitted a request for £92M funding over a three-year period to improve our bus
We are currently advertising for dispensers but to date been unable to recruit services. We will report on how the bid has been received in future reports.
suitably qualified staff to replace them. This will mean that at times your
medication may take longer to dispense.

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