Please note that as of March, the Trust Board meetings will be held on the last Thursday of every month instead of the first Thursday of the month.

Revised list of Trust Board dates:

City’s director of public health supports QA Hospital’s anti-smoking poster campaign

Health bosses launch poster competition in a bid to get smokers using specific shelters.

Patients of Portsmouth Hospitals are reassured that the French PIP breast implant, which has been the subject of recent media coverage, has never been used in operations carried out by the Trust.

The cancer department at Queen Alexandra Hospital has received a donation which was raised from a group of work colleagues, friends and family in memory of their friend.

The cast of this year’s Fernehall Hall panto, Beauty and the Beast, today visited children in the Paediatric department of QA Hospital to wish them a merry Christmas

A quiet room has been created for families to receive sad news, thanks to the fundraising efforts of family and friends.

The cast of Cinderella have today spent the morning before their 2pm performance visiting children in the Paediatric Department of Queen Alexandra Hospital.

The Christmas season at Queen Alexandra Hospital has officially started following a visit from Portsmouth Football Club to the Paediatric Department.

A state-of-the-art maternity centre has opened within the new £18.6m St Mary’s Community Healthcare Campus in Milton, which replaces the existing maternity centre.

 Please view the full article to see the eye clinic's opening times over the Christmas and New Year holiday.

There has been a lot of media coverage over the past months about the proposal to relocate vascular surgeons from Queen Alexandra Hospital (QA), to Southampton General Hospital.

A significant number of people still go Queen Alexandra’s busy accident and emergency department with minor health problems when there is another service available which is more convenient and suitable for their health needs.

Portsmouth Maternity Centre will close temporarily today at midday in order to relocate a new unit, which will be on the second floor of Block A at St Mary’s Hospital.

Young patients at Queen Alexandra Hospital were asked to put their creative skills to the test when they took part in a competition to design the Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust Christmas card.

A Domestic abuse awareness event will be held today in the parentcraft room of the maternity department between 10am-1pm in support of White Ribbon UK, a campaign that exists to end violence against women.

Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust can confirm that a number of staff, from various departments, are taking part in a national strike today, Wednesday 30 November.

Festive cheer will be brought to Queen Alexandra Hospital, as local groups will be coming to sing carols over the festive period.

Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust has well prepared contingency plans in place to ensure disruption to services is kept to a minimum and will endeavour to operate ‘business as usual’ on Wednesday 30 November when industrial action is expected to take place.

The Diabetes Department at Queen Alexandra Hospital has received national recognition for their ongoing work to improve care and treatment for patients with diabetes.

Trainee doctors at Queen Alexandra Hospital have praised the level of education, training and support they get to become better doctors.

Staff at Queen Alexandra Hospital who look for improved ways of treating patients have been highly commended at a national award ceremony.

For Alcohol Awareness Week the Communication’s Department spoke to several QA patients that have turned their lives around after years of battling with alcohol, thanks to QA’s Alcohol Intervention Team. Today we hear from 64-year-old Brian Killen and 30-year-old John Toner.

This week is alcohol awareness week which gives organisations like us the chance to highlight the negative side of alcohol misuse. Portsmouth has the highest rate of alcohol related hospital admissions in the South East.  Last year there were 2,009 per 100,000, compared with a national average of 1,844.

The liver is the biggest organ in the body, but do you ever think about what it is and the important job it does to keep your body functioning? Did you know for example that the liver filters the blood to remove any unwanted toxins? Or that If the liver stops working, so do the rest of the organs in the body.

Sat in a busy coffee shop within Queen Alexandra Hospital, Dr Aspinall has met with me today to explain what the liver is, how it affects my body, and the alarming statistics Portsmouth has when it comes to liver disease.

To mark World Diabetes Day today, Queen Alexandra Hospital is reporting on insulin pump technology available on the NHS to support those with Type 1 diabetes in managing their condition. This therapy allows highly individualised insulin delivery hour by hour throughout the day via a tube inserted under the skin which remains in place for 2-3 days. The battery-operated insulin pump is about half the size of an I.Phone.

Almost 6,000 new cases of mouth cancer are diagnosed each year – a number which is increasing. One patient who has been affected by this serious condition is Gareth Hughes from Stubbington near Fareham

Staff at Queen Alexandra Hospital observed a two-minute silence on Friday 11 November to commemorate Armistice Day.

A scheme designed to give the families of patients who have passed away in the Emergency Department the privacy and dignity they deserve when saying goodbye to their loved one has won special recognition.

Staff at Queen Alexandra Hospital who look for improved ways of treating patients have been shortlisted for an award

The Diagnostic Imaging Department at Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust are gearing up to take part in World Radiography Day on Tuesday 8 November.

Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust is proud to announce that the Rheumatology Department based at Queen Alexandra Hospital is among the 10 winners from across the UKof the National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society (NRAS) Healthcare Champions Award. 

Staff at Queen Alexandra Hospital have teamed up with Pompey Sports and Education Foundation to help fight mouth cancer.

Lead from a historic weather vane that once stood onPortsmouth’s original military hospital has been stolen.

Keeping children and young people safe and healthy is everyone’s responsibility so staff at Queen Alexandra Hospital are urging people to take part in the Child Keep Me Safe and Healthy Day.

Children who have arthritis delved into the spooky world of Halloween when taking part in the first children living with arthritis awareness event.

Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust is delighted to announce the re-appointment of Mark Nellthorp as a Non-Executive Director.

Last week saw the safe birth of baby Charlie on the labour ward at Queen Alexandra Hospital. His arrival is a notable landmark as his mum, Holly Davis, had volunteered to take part in the largest randomised clinical research study ever conducted – the INFANT trial which involves 17 hospitals in Britain.

The dates, times and locations of the next public constituency meetings for Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust have been announced.

A former patient who underwent treatment for testicular cancer in 2010 has donated £1,000 to Queen Alexandra Hospital in Cosham.

Members of staff from Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust could be given the chance to make history if they are chosen as a torchbearer for the Olympic Games in 2012.

Rheumatology specialists from Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust will join other health care professionals from across the south on Wednesday 12 October to celebrate World Arthritis Day.

Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust is on course to become a Foundation Trust and is making progress towards making an application to Monitor, the independent regulator of Foundation Trusts.

Hundreds of people took a rare opportunity to go behind the scenes ofQueenAlexandraHospitalduring a special Open Day on Saturday 1 October.

Following feedback from the families of paediatric patients at Queen Alexandra Hospital, access to the Paediatric Department on Level A will now only be through the Main Entrance.

The Macmillan Information and Support Centre at Queen Alexandra Hospital in Cosham will play its part in the World’s Biggest Coffee Morning on Friday (30 September) by inviting patients, visitors and members of staff to take a break and have a cup of coffee.

Patients who have to have hip or knee surgery are able to get an insight into what the procedure and their hospital stay will entail thanks to the new Joint School at Queen Alexandra Hospital.

A scheme designed to give the families of patients who have passed away in the Emergency Department the privacy and dignity they deserve when saying goodbye to their loved one has received special recognition.

Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust is delighted to announce that its planning application to vary the flight restrictions on the helipad at Queen Alexandra Hospital has been approved.

People from Portsmouth and the surrounding areas are invited to the fifth annual Day to Day - Living with Arthritis event.

 A mother and father are holding a family fun day to raise money for two neonatal units including the unit at Queen Alexandra Hospital.

Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust is pleased to announce that patients are receiving ‘excellent’ food in a ‘good’ environment and a ‘good’ standard of privacy and dignity when being treated at Queen Alexandra Hospital, as shown in the Patient Environment Action Team (PEAT) assessment.

A Young Adult Phlebotomy Service for children aged 14 upwards will be provided by the Trust from Monday 12 September 2011.

The three Primary Care Trust (PCT) Clusters in the South Central region which cover Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Berkshire, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight have reviewed the current provision of services for stroke, major trauma and vascular surgery and developed proposals for how this type of care will be delivered in the future.

Royal Air Force nurses at Queen Alexandra Hospital will be cycling 24 hours non-stop to raise money for the hospital’s Rocky Appeal and Combat Stress the Veterans Mental Health charity.

A test that allows breast cancer patients to cut their chance of needing a second operation by finding out if their disease has spread during initial surgery for the tumour has helped more than 1,000 women in Portsmouth and South East Hampshire.

The closing date for members of the public to comment on Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust’s planning application to vary the flight restrictions on the helipad at Queen Alexandra Hospital is fast approaching.

From Monday 22 August 2011 St Marys Hospital Phlebotomy Clinic will open from 7am to offer patients an earlier appointment time.

Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust is pleased to announce the launch of a new Hepatitis C treatment service at Queen Alexandra Hospital.

To continue to meet the needs of pregnant women and their families in Portsmouth and surrounding areas Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust has revaluated its Maternity services to make them more flexible.

Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust is delighted to announce that the 1000th baby has been treated and discharged from the state-of-the-art Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Queen Alexandra Hospital since it opened in July 2009.

Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust has submitted an application to vary the flight restrictions on the helipad at Queen Alexandra Hospital to meet the changing needs of patients in Portsmouth and the surrounding areas. Click here to view the application on the Portsmouth City Council website.

Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust is pleased to announce that it was better than the national average in every area of the National Hip Fracture Database and has seen increasing improvement year on year.

Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust welcomes the CQC’s report. We are pleased that the CQC has found the Trust to be meeting the essential standards for dignity and nutrition for older people and welcome the suggestions made to ensure we maintain our ongoing compliance.

Following the emergency and temporary closure of Portsmouth Maternity Centre on Friday 8 July the centre has now reopened.

Staff at Queen Alexandra Hospital would like to make members of the public aware that a fire training exercise is due to take place tomorrow (Friday 8 July) to test response times.

Staff side representatives at Queen Alexandra Hospital are most disturbed at the recent rumours of mass redundancies, particularly regarding Nursing and Midwifery staff. We want to categorically refute the story reported on local BBC news. The actual figures at risk of redundancy are genuinely 99 and under. 

You may be aware of BBC reporting today about workforce reductions which is inaccurate. 

Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust is supporting National Transplant Week this week - aimed at encouraging more people to donate their organs when they die.

There are about 7,500 patients currently waiting for a transplant in the UK. Of these, 1,000 patients a year - three patients a day - die waiting.

From tomorrow (Friday 1 July), GPs and other health professionals who are considering referring patients for non-urgent surgery, will ask them if they smoke - and if they do, find out if they are prepared to be referred to their local NHS stop smoking service.

In 2010 the Trust published its first Quality Account, providing details of the quality of services the Trust provides and priorities for improvement in 2010/2011, the Trust is now proud to publish its second Quality Account. 

To meet the changing needs of patients in Portsmouth and the surrounding areas Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust is intending to apply for permission to change the flight restrictions placed on the helipad at Queen Alexandra Hospital.

Following the temporary closure of Portsmouth Maternity Centre on 25 and 26 June, to allow essential gas works to be carried out, the centre was reopened on Monday 27 June as planned.

Breastfeeding is the ‘gold standard’ of newborn nutrition. Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust encourages mothers to exclusively breastfeed their babies for the first six months of life and then up to two years, along side weaning, as recommended by the Department of Health and World Health Organisation.

Hundreds of people took the rare opportunity to go behind-the-scenes of Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust’s Dermatology Department at a special open day.

As part of National Diabetes Week, NHS Diabetes and Dr Nalin Wickramasuriya, a paediatric diabetes specialist at Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust, are urging parents to be aware of the signs and symptoms of type 1 diabetes in children.

Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust would like to reassure patients that the particular type of hip replacement, which is receiving national press coverage today (Thursday 16 June), has not been used by the Trust.

Surgeons at Queen Alexandra Hospital have successfully removed a tumour from a patient’s neck while he was awake.

Every year, around one in three over-65s living in the community and one in two people aged over 85 will have a fall. The consequences can be devastating, both physically and emotionally.

Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust is delighted to host the Ankylosing Spondylitis Conference 2011 which provides a chance for patients, family members and Health Care Professionals to find out more about Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS).

Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust is delighted to announce the appointment of two Non-executive Director Designates to the Trust Board.

Members of the public will be given a rare opportunity to go behind-the-scenes of Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust’s Dermatology Department at a special open day.

Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust is holding its annual conference for patients and their families who live with Osteoporosis this month.

The parents of a man who passed away from Diabetes have made a generous donation to Queen Alexandra Hospital where he was treated.

Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust is urging patients to ‘choose well’ over the bank holiday weekend.

The family and friends of a lady who passed away after being treated at Queen Alexandra Hospital for cancer has donated more than £9,000 to the Head and Neck Department in her memory.

Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust welcomes the final report of the Independent Reconfiguration Panel (IRP) regarding the Trust’s model for end of life care. This has been a thorough and comprehensive review and the implementation of the recommendations will further enhance the quality of end of life care for patients, their relatives and their carers in the Portsmouth area.

Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust’s stroke service is nationally recognised as one of the best in the country. At the next public constituency meetings Dr Jane Williams, Chief of Service for Medicine for Older People, Rehabilitation and Stroke, will be giving a presentation on stroke and the Trust’s stroke services.

Eighty-five family and friends joined together with staff from Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust for the 2011 Pier to Pier Amble for Arthritis held in Southsea on Sunday 8 May.

The Trust is celebrating International Nurses Day on 12 May by launching the Nursing and Midwifery Framework for 2011, which recognises the contribution nurses and midwives make to patient care.

On Wednesday 1 June, Carillion, who manage the Trust’s car parks, will increase the car parking charges by about 5.5%.  

Whilst the Trust recognises Carillion’s contractual right to increase car parking charges in line with the Retail Price Index, we are very disappointed that these increased charges are to be introduced. The Trust receives no income from these car parking fees.

Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust is delighted to announce it has completed its 25th hand assisted laparoscopic donor nephrectomy.

Today (Thursday 5 May) the Trust is celebrating International Day of the Midwife by raising awareness of the role of midwives with an information stand in the maternity outpatients area on B Level of Queen Alexandra Hospital.

Staff at Queen Alexandra Hospital are gearing up to take part in National Thrombosis Week by holding a special event to raise awareness of hospital acquired venous thromboembolism (VTE).

A survey has revealed that inpatient services provided by Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust have improved over the last year.

A naval reservist has paid tribute to her colleagues at Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust for their support by nominating them for an Employee Award.

Children at the Paediatric Department at Queen Alexandra Hospital were given a healthier Easter treat this year by Sainsbury’s staff in Farlington.

Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust is urging patients to ‘choose well’ over the coming bank holiday weekends.

Click here for a statement from Ursula Ward, Trust Chief Executive, regarding a redundancy programme that was launched on 15 April 2011

The sister of a man who passed away at Queen Alexandra Hospital has donated £5,000 to the Critical Care unit in his memory.

Staff at Queen Alexandra Hospital are gearing up to take part in Osteoporosis Day to raise awareness of the condition that many people do not know they have until it is too late.

Millions of people around the world are affected by Tuberculosis (TB), a condition which is commonly thought of as being a third world problem.

The High Sheriff, Mr Alan Lovell, praised the facilities at Queen Alexandra Hospital, calling them “impressive”, following a recent visit.

Rheumatology staff at Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust, who organise conferences and events to help people look after themselves whilst living with any type of arthritis or connective tissue disease, have been shortlisted for a national award.

Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust and Solent Healthcare partner with UCB in '10 out of 10' programme to encourage physical activity among patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis

The Trust would like to appoint another Non-Executive Director Designate to strengthen its Board in preparation for achieving Foundation Trust status and thereafter.

Lorraine and Chris Blackburn will walk from Princess Anne Hospital in Southampton to Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth on Saturday 5 March with 49 friends and family. All the proceeds from the sponsored walk will be split between the neonatal units both of the hospitals.

A charity has helped Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust increase the number of respiratory monitors on the Neonatal Unit (NICU) at Queen Alexandra Hospital.

Census Day is 27 March 2011. Every household will receive the census form by post in March and responses can be made online or on paper.

Senior nurses at Queen Alexandra Hospital are now wearing new red uniforms so they are easily identifiable to patients, visitors and colleagues.

Portsmouth’s Cancer Services at Queen Alexandra Hospital were put on show recently as Macmillan Cancer Support employees from the charities’ London Headquarters attended a site visit.

Staff at the Emergency Department at Queen Alexandra Hospital are continuing to urge people to Choose Well when deciding where to get medical treatment after recent national statistics show that a large number of visits to NHS accident and emergency departments in England end with the patient just needing advice.

Staff at Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust are continuing to go above and beyond the call of duty to help improve the treatment of stroke patients in Ghana.

Around 95% of people who suffer a cardiac arrest in the community don’t survive. Fortunately, Roy Jackson is one of the survivors.