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.
Date: 08 March 2020
Dear colleague,
On Wednesday the Government launched a new public information campaign that focuses on handwashing. This follows on from the launch of the Government’s Coronavirus Action Plan (COVID-19) on Tuesday (3 March). The action plan provides information on the Government's plans to contain the spread of coronavirus and what action could be taken in response to any escalating situation. Clearly the situation is changing on a daily basis, but we continue to take all the actions we are required to take and will to keep you updated, based on information available to us from Public Health England. In the meantime, you will have seen that we have stepped up our handwashing awareness and guidance across PHT for patients, visitors and all staff. We are also scaling up the provision of advice and support for the use of PPE and FIT testing, as a refresher for those who are required to use it. If you’d like to know more about this, please speak to your line manager or a member of your divisional leadership team.
On Friday I was delighted to meet with Stephen Morgan, MP for Portsmouth South and Shadow Minister for Defence (Armed Forces and Defence Procurement) and Local Government (Communities). We discussed a range of issues including our recent achievement of an overall ‘good’ rating by the Care Quality Commission and our plans to drive further improvements across the organisation. Stephen has agreed to visit us again soon to meet with a number of teams across the Trust and to hear more about our Building Better Emergency Care (BBEC) programme which will transform emergency care across Portsmouth and South East Hampshire, working with our partners. Stephen was one of the key stakeholders who supported our bid for capital investment and I’m looking forward to introducing him to the team we’ve recruited to lead the programme.
A further BBEC clinical summit was held on Friday to review the current clinical model and estate options for our new Emergency Department (ED) at QA. It is important that teams from across PHT and in our local community are able to shape the clinical model that will underpin the design of our new emergency care facilities. The £58m capital investment provides us with an opportunity to rethink how we organise emergency and unscheduled care and to purpose build our new facilities to match. There has been a huge amount of work undertaken so far and I’m grateful to all those who took part and reviewed the proposed designs, providing feedback on the clinical model to inform the final options appraisal. This was an important step to support the next stage of the business case, which will be heading to our Trust Board very soon, before it is submitted to the Department of Health and Social Care for approval to the following stage.
Some of you may be aware that last Friday, 28 February, a sentencing hearing was held at Portsmouth Magistrates’ Court following an assault on a member of our nursing team and members of our administrative team within ED on Boxing Day last year. As an organisation we fully support the prosecution and will continue to take action to protect you while you’re at work, providing or supporting the care we give to patients. Nobody should come to work with the expectation that they will experience abuse of any kind from anyone, and we will certainly not tolerate it. For more information about our #RespectandProtect campaign, our seven-point plan to respond to violence and aggression, and how you can seek support should you need it, click here.
Our next Schwartz Round, “things that should never happen,” will be held on Monday. Schwartz rounds provide a confidential, evidence-based forum for individuals and teams from all backgrounds to come together to discuss issues and challenges and share their experiences. I have been to a number of sessions myself and have always found the story telling and sharing of experience to be incredibly powerful. The session will run in rooms 11 and 12 in the Education Centre on E Level, so do go along if you can. If you can’t make it, do check out the dates of the next sessions and try to go along to one in the future. Schwartz rounds also count towards Continuing Professional Development and can be used as evidence for appraisals, revalidation and portfolios. There is no need to book but please let Angela Smart know if you plan to attend by emailing Angela.Smart@porthosp.nhs.uk.
There will be no weekly message from me next week as I will be on leave. Penny Emerit, Director of Strategy and Performance, will be Acting Chief Executive in my absence.
Finally, today is International Women’s Day so I will seize the opportunity to pay tribute to the thousands of women who work here at PHT, inspiring us, guiding us, leading us and treating us, every single day.
Thank you to you all for the incredible work you do, each and every day, to provide the best possible care for each of our patients.
Mark Cubbon
Chief Executive
