The Trust has a large and geographically broad estate, operating from over 200 sites ranging from community hospitals to single rooms within premises of other NHS providers.

The Trust participated in an Enhancing the Healing Environment project with the King's Fund to encourage greater use of dining, social and garden areas in St Brelades Ward, Alderney Hospital, Poole.

[5] In April 2015 it was reported that this was the only foundation trust in England where persistently more than 7.5 per cent of its beds are occupied by a patient whose transfer has been delayed, this being one of Monitor's targets.

The trust said: "This [performance] is in a context of a very real shortage of nursing or residential placements, exacerbated by the closure of two independent care homes due to quality concerns that removed 71 beds from the local system.

The chair and chief executive also resigned after intervention by Monitor (NHS) and were replaced on an interim basis by Sir David Henshaw and Ron Shields respectively.

Nicola Plumb, director for organisational development, participation and corporate affairs at the trust, is in charge of communications and is paid nearly £100,000 a year.