We know how important it is for patients and families to be able to see visitors. Please help us keep our patients and staff as safe as possible by checking the guidance below before you visiting.
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 Voluntary Services team 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.
Our Strategy – Working Together, Improving Together
Our strategy sets out our vision, values, strategic aims and most importantly, how we will deliver against these ambitions for our patients, communities, and people in the future.
It is not just a document, it is for and about everyone at PHU, building on what we have achieved with a renewed focus on continuous improvement and the need to continue to work together and improve together to achieve our goals.
A full copy of the strategy can be downloaded here.
For more information, please visit our strategy webpage.
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: 23 August 2022
The Clinical Skills Team is a group of nurses from a variety of clinical backgrounds with expertise in education. This gives us a wealth of knowledge and experience that we can share with our attendees.
Sharon Matthews
Cascade Training Coordinator and Clinical Skills Lead
As Cascade Training Coordinator my role is to help organize training & teaching across the organization; I bring subject matter experts together to establish the best way in doing this. There is a strong focus on patient safety and my workstream covers predominantly but not exclusively:
I commenced my career in PHU in 2002. I spent twelve months in Acute Medicine before moving to the Department of Critical Care in 2003. During my eighteen years in Critical Care my knowledge and skills grew exponentially; I completed many post-graduate courses to support my professional growth and leadership.
My skillset includes:
• Qualified Outreach Nurse
• Caring for the critically ill child
• ITU Transfer Nurse ~ Transferring critically unwell patients within and out of hospital to other specialised centres depending upon clinical need
• Lead educator for Renal Replacement Therapy (RRT) within the department
• Co-ordinating a 24 bedded Critical Care Unit as the ‘Nurse in Charge’
Prior to the Covid Pandemic I taught ‘Skills Training’ at Southampton University for pre -registration nurses and worked closely with the Practice Educators in Critical Care. The Covid Pandemic saw unprecedented times in ITU and I led teams throughout all waves of the pandemic. I have always been passionate about education and supporting others to achieve their full potential and completed my Post Graduate Certificate in Medical Education (PGCME) in 2020. I moved to this post in October 2021.
Sarah Bryant
Clinical Skills Administrator
I have been working in Education for the last 4 years. I previously worked in Secondary School level education, I coordinated the training year for aspiring teachers and Newly Qualified Teachers. I worked alongside a local University to ensure learners gained their teaching qualification.
I have been working at QAH since 2021 and I am responsible for administration of Clinical Skills courses. I really enjoy this role and working within the Learning and Development Team.
John Grieves
Clinical Skills Trainer
My name is John, and I am currently in post as a skills trainer as part of the clinical skills team and I can be located primarily over at the Quad Centre.
I’ve spent the last 15 years working with the operating theatre here at PHU, in that time I have served as a healthcare support worker, trained as a registered nurse through the open university and post graduate practice. I was redeployed to the intensive care unit during the COVID pandemic, and while this wasn’t a pleasant experience it showed me I had more to offer to the trust.
I would describe my teaching style as adaptive, I found in my own education that not all nurses and allied health professionals learn in the same way or have the same background knowledge. This perspective drives me to adapt the approach I take to education in the hope of making the training ‘real’ for everyone involved.
Within my new role I have a new road to my career that I had never really saw myself on, that said, I am finding my new role in education to be incredibly rewarding. Looking to the future, my team and I are working to create a clinical skills training package that works for all staff members across the trust regardless of their profession or background.
Teena Thankachan
Clinical Skills Trainer
My name is Teena, I currently work as a Clinical Skills Trainer in Queen Alexandra Hospital, the main site of the busy and acute Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust. I pursue my career by undertaking Bachelor’s degree in Nursing in 2007.
My previous working experience includes specialties such as: Traumatic Brain Injury and Spinal Cord Injury Unit, Orthopedics, Endocrinology, General Medicine, Combined Hematology and Oncology Centre.
I possess proven experience, as clinical educator, in India, Singapore and the United Kingdom. I have a spontaneous and deeply rooted passion for the nursing profession and a vision for the journey ahead: a competent, forward-thinking workforce, where coaching and education are not only facilitators but strong foundations.
My teaching style has the coaching element at its core, as I firmly believe that the learning process should aim to expose the intrinsic resources of the students/ professionals, increasing the knowledge as much as their confidence.
I am immensely grateful for this new role/experience, which is a credit to the nursing profession and how far it has come. It has given me the opportunity to maximize my professional experience by supporting my fellow colleagues during their learning pathway, bettering my practice, and contributing to the growth of our organisation.
We are located on the 2nd Floor of the QuAD Centre at Queen Alexandra Hospital.
Email: ClinicalSkills.Team@porthosp.nhs.uk
Phone: Extension 5848
Social Media: Twitter: QAPHU_CLINSKILLS
