After suspending visiting earlier in the year, we are now able to offer limited visiting to some wards at the discretion of the nurse in-charge.”
Read more on visiting times...
We recognise the impact that a long stay in hospital can have on families and the importance of maintaining strong communication. Our ward staff are keeping in touch with patients’ next of kin directly and our Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) can help pass on personal messages from family and friends.
After suspending visiting earlier in the year, we are now able to offer limited visiting to some wards at the discretion of the nurse in-charge.”
Read more on visiting times...
We recognise the impact that a long stay in hospital can have on families and the importance of maintaining strong communication. Our ward staff are keeping in touch with patients’ next of kin directly and our Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) can help pass on personal messages from family and friends.
The Queen Alexandra Hospital is located just on the hill slopes of Portsdown Hill overlooking Portsmouth. It is conveniently situated for both the M27 and A3M.
Family members and carers play an important role in supporting patients during an episode of ill health. We are committed to the active involvement of family members, friends and carers during a hospital stay. Family members and carers play an important role in supporting patients during an episode of ill health.
More information on visiting hospital for an appointment.
If you've had experience of using our services and would like to make a comment then please contact the Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS). Your views are very important to us and we would like to hear where you think improvements are needed or where things have gone so well that you would like to share your thanks or gratitude with the staff involved. When things have not gone so well then you can be sure that we want to hear from you, so please get in touch with PALS.
During your stay in hospital you will meet a number of different members of staff. All members of staff wear name badges, but if you are not sure who someone is or what they do, please feel free to ask them to introduce themselves and explain what they do.
If you have any questions about your treatment, please ask a doctor or a nurse.
There are lots of opportunities for you to get involved with the Trust, from volunteering to attending our public meetings, our Annual General Meeting or our hospital open day which is held every year.
We welcome and value your feedback and use the views you share with us in a number of ways to learn and make improvements as well as sharing best practice. Feedback can be provided in a number of ways.
Last updated: 04 November 2019
We have four core values that outline how we expect each of us to "work together" to care for our patients. Our values were refreshed with input from patients and staff, to coincide with the launch of our Trust Strategy, Working Together.
All of our staff, volunteers, and Board members commit to uphold our values of working together for patients, with compassion, as one team and always improving.
Our working together campaign is celebrating and embedding our values, showing how they bind us together as a team and run through all that we do.
We take a values-based approached to recruitment which means we aim to attract staff on the basis that their individual values and behaviours align with our organisational values. This helps ensure we recruit the right people, with the right skills and the right values to ensure our patients receive the best possible care. Assessment of our values has been embedded into appraisals for all staff.
Our Pride of Portsmouth Awards are held annually to recognise and celebrate the outstanding achievements of colleagues right across the Trust. The 10 categories align with our values showcasing best practice and acknowledging staff who live and breathe our values.
Our core purpose is to provide the best care and experience for our patients, in everything we do. This means that we expect our staff and volunteers to:
Our people and our patients deserve to be treated with respect and kindness. this means that we expect our staff and volunteers to be:
We work better together, and need to collaborate to achieve our aims. this means that we expect our staff and volunteers to:
We can always improve and should consistently seek to do better. This means that we expect our staff and volunteers to:
Dozens of messages have been shared on our tree of compassion, which was installed at the hospital as part of our Working Together values campaign.
Patients, staff and visitors shared their thoughts on examples of compassionate care they have seen or experienced at the hospital which have been displayed on the tree in our atrium.
Compassionate behaviour is displayed daily within the Trust. Just one example is the fantastic efforts kind staff on ward E3 went to, working with QA@Home and Pharmacy colleagues, in supporting inpatient Chris Cole. Chris, 29, has Hirschsprung's disease and has spent long periods in hospital since he was a baby. He is currently only able to leave hospital for a maximum of two hours at a time. Thanks to the teams, Chris was able to go home to celebrate his birthday this year. Read more on his story here.
Our Chief Nurse Liz Riz talks about compassion in the workplace.
Senior Sister Sandy Dewis has worked at our hospital on ward D4 for over three decades. D4 is home to all Orthopaedic trauma and specialises in traumatic brain injuries. Sandy regularly goes above and beyond for the benefit of her patients, from personally collecting hundreds of Christmas presents for her ward to going that extra mile for patients and their families during end of life care. Sandy is a prime example of a member of our team living our values each and every day and highlights our value of working together for patients.
Sandy said: “My motto is that people might not remember your name, but they will always remember how you made them feel. I’ve got that printed out on my office door. I still feel I can make a change after all these years. Gaining a patient’s trust and confidence is the most important thing. And of course, we aim to see them go home.”
Sandy also went above and beyond to ensure that Christmas time for D4 patients was a memorable occasion. Sandy explained: “My daughter Shannon and I have been collecting presents for the last few years to give to patients on the ward at Christmas. We put a message on Facebook to see if anyone may consider donating to our patients, and we offered ideas such as biscuits or sweets, or washing things as some patients come to us with nothing. When we first started, we received around 100 presents and this year we were given over 300!”
Sandy’s passion for patient care is felt throughout the team on D4, and she continues to be a true example of our working together for patients value. Sandy said: “The for patients value means everything to me. Absolutely everything. Everything leads off of this. Smiling and being kind costs nothing.”
https://www.porthosp.nhs.uk/PHTNEWS/Sandy-Dewis-Story.htm
Our Wonderwall celebrates our value of working together as one team.
It provides an opportunity to recognise and thank individuals and teams for the contribution they make as part of #asoneteam.
Patients, staff and visitors are invited to share messages of thanks and we have been overwhelmed by the wonderful messages our staff have received.
Butterfly Bereavement Suite
Lee Campbell is a Sister in the Emergency Department at QA, has been the driving force behind a significant improvement to the department in the shape of a stunningly transformed bereavement suite for families. Known as The Butterfly Bereavement Suite, this room provides the peace, dignity and privacy families need during a difficult time.
As a result of Lee and the team’s hard work and dedication, working with the hospital charity, £15,000 was raised to fund this new addition.
Lee’s efforts to improve the experience for patients and their loved ones during a distressing is a true example of a team member living and breathing our value of working together, always improving.
Lee said: “I knew it would make a difference and it’s been my passion, following a personal experience of my own. I know that we can’t make the situation any better, but the environment being better helps people.”
The original bereavement suite available to families was a standard clinical hospital cubicle, offering. This has now been transformed into a beautiful suite with a homely feel, specifically designed to be used by families who are saying goodbye to a loved one.
Lee added: “The first week it was open, I came in one morning one of the doctors just flung her arms around me and said, “I just needed to say thank you”...I was gobsmacked. I’ve had loads of staff thanking me.”
All of the team within the ED are dedicated to working together in to provide the best possible support for their patients and their families during a sensitive time, and this new improvement has been invaluable. Lee said: “We won’t change what’s happened to that person, but they will remember the environment.”
