Welcome to The Friends of Blandford Community Hospital

Our Friends organisation was first formed following a meeting at the Corn Exchange, Blandford in 1948 and was a founder member of the National Association League of Friends and is a registered charity with the Charity Commission for England and Wales.

The charity is committed to supporting Blandford Community Hospital in delivering excellent standards of treatment and care, and assisting health related projects and groups in our community.

Our aim is to make a significant difference to the reach and scale of the services available to our community in and around Blandford. We do this by supporting the Hospital clinical staff in any way we are able but especially by providing funds for capital and infrastructure projects that are outside the affordability of the NHS.

The Friends of Blandford Community Hospital

will be holding their 69th

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

At 6.30pm on Wednesday 1st July 2026

at Blandford Community Hospital, Milldown Road, Blandford Forum

ALL ARE WELCOME

For further information telephone: The Friends Office – 01258 450095

Elections 2026

Nominations for elections to the Council must be received by the Hon. Secretary at the Friends’ office by Friday 19th June 2026. All nominees shall have agreed to stand for election and shall have been duly proposed and seconded by members. Rule 9(b) states ‘no person shall be appointed who is not an individual subscribing member of The Friends’.

Nomination forms are available from The Friends’ Office.

Charity No. 800482

We need your help! Support us by becoming a member -

Join Us

Learn more about our History, Council and Members.

About Us

Dorset HealthCare

Blandford Community Hospital is part of Dorset HealthCare, who are responsible for all community hospitals along with mental health services and many physical health services. They provide healthcare across Dorset at over 300 sites. As a Foundation Trust, they have a Council of Governors who are elected to represent the views and interests of the public, patients and staff as well as carers and other stakeholders.

You can influence the decisions made about the NHS in Dorset by becoming a Member of Dorset HealthCare, and making contact with your local Governor. Anyone over the age of 11 years is welcome, it’s free and without obligation.

Details about the Council of Governors and their contact details can be found at Dorset HealthCare website, http://www.dorsethealthcare.nhs.uk

It takes just a few minutes to complete an online membership form, or complete a printed form when visiting one of their services (if you can’t find one, just ask).

Our Services

Provided directly to our local community

https://www.friendsofblandford.org.uk/wp-content/themes/salient/css/fonts/svg/basic_geolocalize-05.svg

Local People

Representing the interests of local people in any development of the services and amenities at our hospital.

https://www.friendsofblandford.org.uk/wp-content/themes/salient/css/fonts/svg/basic_signs.svg

Transport Services

Transport service to medical appointments, delivered by our volunteer drivers.

https://www.friendsofblandford.org.uk/wp-content/themes/salient/css/fonts/svg/basic_calendar.svg

Community Outings

Social outings and shopping trips delivered by our volunteers in our minibus.

https://www.friendsofblandford.org.uk/wp-content/themes/salient/css/fonts/svg/basic_heart.svg

Providing Support

Supporting local health related projects and groups with help and/or financial grants.

Community Shops

The Friends of Blandford Hospital are very proud of their 2 charity shops which provide a steady income for the charity generated through the hard work and commitment of the team of volunteers that work there.

Our Shops

Fundraising

We have a regular schedule of fundraising events each year that are always well supported locally. These events have become such a success because of the continued commitment and dedication of a wonderful team of volunteers.

All Events

Volunteering

We have a dedicated team of volunteers that support people in the community from transporting people to medical appointments or driving our minibus and escorting on our shopping trips and social outings.

Help Out

Our Events

Here at the Friends of Blandford Community Hospital we have events all year round to help raise money for various things in the charity, such as funding our minibuses, buying new equipment, running our shops and more.

We’d also like to hear from you if you have any ideas for a fundraising event, so please do get in touch. Click through to see the full list of upcoming events, and of course you can follow us on Facebook.