In the Sunday Times Good Hospital Guide 2004, West Dorset's patient satisfaction rating is bettered by only one trust in England[2] [dubious – discuss] and it scores well with respect to most of the other performance indicators.

The trust's facilities are also very clean: it is ranked in the top ten in England for the high standards of cleanliness in the A&E department and in outpatients' toilets.

[3] Proposals to transfer the pathology department to a private provider were rejected in October 2014 after 11,000 people signed a petition protesting against the plan.

Babies born before 32 weeks have to be transferred to other hospitals in the Thames Valley and Wessex Neonatal Network.

[5] The hospital is also recognised as a cancer unit for the provision of services for patients with gynaecological, breast, colorectal, urological, upper gastrointestinal, lung and haematological malignancies.