GOVERNORS of a west Dorset special school have said some of their students would be ‘unlikely to survive’ the journey from Beaminster to Bournemouth if proposed changes to children’s services at Dorset County Hospital are implemented.

The Dorchester hospital's highly valued Kingfisher Ward and Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU) have come under threat following a review by the Dorset Clinical Care Commissioning Group (CCG) of local health services.

A proposal being considered could see children who need long term care or who are seriously ill transferred to Poole or Bournemouth.

Now, governors of Mountjoy School in Beaminster have written a letter urging Dr Forbes Watson, chairman of the CCG, to reject the proposed changes.

The letter states that the proposed changes to children’s services are ‘not in the best interests of any children in west Dorset’, in particular those with special needs.

The letter added: “We are extremely concerned about the proposed closures of the Kingfisher Ward and the Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU).

“All of our pupils have special educational needs and many have severe and frequent ongoing medical needs.

“The two wards under threat have been vitally important in the lives of many of our children and their families.”

The governors also said they do not believe it is sensible to expect parents or carers and their children to travel from West Dorset to Bournemouth or Poole for medical help.

They added that apart from the distance, the roads are slow and this is a particular problem in the holiday season.

The letter continued: “Some of our children need very rapid medical intervention if they have what would normally be considered minor medical issues.

“They would literally be unlikely to survive the journey from Beaminster to Bournemouth on the roads.

“If hospitalisation is needed, families would be put in a very difficult situation because of the need for childcare for other children in the family.

“Financial strain would also be greatly increased.

Parents or children with special needs already experience a 40 per cent increase in anxiety problems – the proposal can only exacerbate this.”

The school’s governing body consists of Mountjoy headteacher Jackie Shanks, Dorset County councillor for Beaminster Rebecca Knox, three parent governors, one staff governor and five co-opted governors.

Health bosses have insisted they are not proposing any changes to Dorset County Hospital’s Special Care Baby Unit, but they can’t make any promises about Kingfisher Ward.

The CCG announced its position on the neonatal unit following public reaction to its review proposals.

Dr Watson and chief officer Tim Goodson say they face a ‘difficult decision’ in balancing outcomes for patients with the impact on families of transferring services.

The health chiefs were also keen to stress that no decisions had yet been made and urged people to contribute to a public consultation exercise later this summer.

Health services in Dorset are facing a financial gap of £200m by 2021 but say the decision surrounding children’s services is not driven by cost.

Dr Watson said: “The reasons we are doing the review are basically is to maintain and improve where we can the safety, the quality and particularly the sustainability of services.”

“Fortunately we are in a financially viable position at this point in time but unless we look at opportunities for working in a different way that’s not going to be the case going forward given the demands of the population."

Consultation is likely to start in August and will run for around 12 weeks.