A stay in hospital can be a daunting time for anyone whether it is for a short or long time. But having someone with you can help you recover and make you feel more at ease.
Keeping in contact with friends and family is important to patients. It is recognised that a balance is needed between maintaining that contact and allowing for rest and recuperation. In response to feedback from patients, families and carers wards and departments have local guidelines about visiting times so please do check before visiting.
At Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust, we are proud to provide expert, compassionate care.
We are here for our local population of about 675,000 residents across Portsmouth and south east Hampshire and care for many people beyond, including providing some tertiary services to a catchment area of more than 2m people.
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: 30 March 2020
Please note:
Our online resources are available 24/7 from your laptop, tablet and phone: you will need an OpenAthens account to access them. Register for an account at openathens.nice.org.uk
Our quiet study area on Level E and the library space in the QuAD are still accessible with your PHT staff card (24/7 in the case of the library).
Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust provides a library service for use by NHS employees, trainees, medical students and undergraduate healthcare students who are working in the local health community. Additional services, access to e-resources and out of hours provision may also be available, dependent on your employer.
Find us in The QuAD Centre, Queen Alexandra Hospital, Portsmouth, Hampshire PO6 3LY
8:30am to 5:00pm Monday - Friday
(24/7 access is available with a PHT Security ID badge. Please ask a member of the team for more information.)
For General enquiries e-mail: Library.qah@porthosp.nhs.uk
Telephone: 023 9228 6039
Library and eLearning Manager
Fari Mashumba: fari.mashumba@porthosp.nhs.uk
023 9228 6880
Clinical Librarians
Rebecca Howes: rebecca.howes@porthosp.nhs.uk
023 9228 6042
Aaron Razack: aaron.razack@porthosp.nhs.uk
023 9228 6042
QuAD Librarian
Kerry Flett: kerry.flett@porthosp.nhs.uk
023 9228 6043
eLearning Technologist
Jon Mackintosh: jon.mackintosh@porthosp.nhs.uk
023 9228 3857
eLearning Support
Georgia Fifield: georgia.fifield@porthosp.nhs.uk
023 9228 1241
Apprentice
Whitney Musson: whitney.musson@porthosp.nhs.uk
023 9228 1241
eLearning Support/ESR login
E-mail: elearning@porthosp.nhs.uk or esr.passwordreset@porthosp.nhs.uk
Tel: 023 9228 1241 or 023 9228 6104
Senior Library Assistants
Christine Cadet: library.qah@porthosp.nhs.uk
023 9228 6039
Anna Cameron: library.qah@porthosp.nhs.uk
023 9228 6039
Christine Gasser: library.qah@porthosp.nhs.uk
023 9228 6039
Library Assistant
Mark Williams: library.qah@porthosp.nhs.uk
023 9228 6039
If you are an employee or student at Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust you are free to join the library service. Once you fill out the library registration form linked below, you will receive an email telling you your SWIMS card is ready for collection from the library front desk in the QuAD Centre.
Your SWIMS (South West Information Management System) card is your NHS library card. With PHT you will be able to:
All members must abide by our Library Regulations
Why do we collect your information?
In accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (2018) our purpose for collecting and using your data is as follows:
We need the data you provide when you register (such as your name, email, occupation and address) so that we can administer your user account;
This is essential to allow us to provide the services we offer to our members: book loans, book and article requests, evidence searches, training, current awareness updates etcetera.
This is also essential for us to administer the data you provide to NHS OpenAthens when you sign up for an account. We use the information on your Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust account to provide OpenAthens administration services such as resetting your password.
We only ask for the minimum information we need to complete our work.
How do we make sure your information is kept safe?
We make sure that it is filed safely, in a locked cabinet in a locked office, or is password-protected.
Registration forms are kept for a period of two months, after which they are destroyed.
Please use the below forms or email links to request an article, request a book, make suggestions for new books, ask for searches or training, or to provide feedback about the Library service.
This can be sent to your NHS email address, posted internally or collected from the library.
Complete this form to request a book or a section of a book.
If you think that we are missing a few books that you would like to see in the library, then feel free to make some suggestions!
The Clinical Librarians can provide training at your workplace or in the Library for finding good quality evidence, appraising and referencing, just drop them an email Clinical.Librarian@porthosp.nhs.uk
The Clinical Librarians will carry out an expert literature search to support your clinical practice. Please e-mail the Clinical Librarians with your search topic, date limits, alternative keywords and the purpose of your search.
Submit your comments about Portsmouth NHS Library Service and suggestions for any other service improvement such as new books, journals or other resources that you would like the Library to consider.
Portsmouth NHS Library Service offers a wide range of e-Resources that can be accessed from work or home and anywhere you have Internet access.
From this webpage you can access journals, databases, eBooks and smartphone resources.
NHS OpenAthens is required to access many of our resources, click here to register or contact the library to find out more.
BMJ Best Practice takes you quickly and accurately to the latest evidence-based information, whenever and wherever you need it.
You can also download the app via apple or android app stores
British National Formularies are freely available to access via NICE
The Cochrane Library is the premier resource for information on the effectiveness of healthcare interventions. It is freely available to everyone in the UK.
DynaMed Plus
A point of care tool designed to provide an overview and recommendations on a wide selection of different medical conditions.
To access this resource at work click DynaMed Plus
To use it from home login to OpenAthens
You can also download the app via apple or android app stores
There are a range of eBooks available via SWIMS - NHS OpenAthens may be required to access.
With your NHS OpenAthens account check local access to journals here
If the library does not subscribe to the journal you need, please use our Article Request form to gain access to the information you need.
NHS Evidence is managed by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) and is available to both the public and Health care professionals.
Use this resource to search for authoritative clinical and non-clinical evidence and best practice.
NHSOpenAthens is required to access some resources.
OTseeker is a searchable database that contains abstracts of systematic reviews and randomised controlled trials relevant to occupational therapy. Some trials have been critically appraised to help assess the reliability and validity of the studys.
Physiotherapy database which will search systematic reviews, randomised controlled trials and practice guidelines.
Data and knowledge gateway - A single point of access to data and analysis tools from across Public Health England.
The Royal Marsden Manual is now in it's 9th edition and continues to provide access to evidence based skills and procedures related to essential aspects of a patient's care.
Research briefings, reports, government documents, journal articles and websites on all aspects of social care and social work.
The Library Catalogue lists books and other resources available in the library at Queen Alexandra Hospital (location code H27) in Portsmouth, as well as items held by other NHS libraries across South West England.
Want to know what's new on the library shelves? Check out the New Books List (updated on a monthly basis).
Want to check access to a journal?
Go to NICE Journals and use the search box to find the journal you want.
More journals are available from MA Complete.
To access either collection from home, login to your Open Athens account.
Library Services provides the various clinical departments of PHT with (bi)monthly evidence updates. These updates include the latest high level evidence in the particular field and are high impact documents.
| Emergency Care | Neonatal |
| Endoscopy | Older Person's Medicine |
| Human Resources | Oncology |
| Maternity, Obstetrics and Gynaecology | Paediatrics |
| Mental Health | Quality Improvement |
If we currently do not create an evidence update for your department, if you are not receiving your departments evidence update, or you would like to receive the evidence updates directly, please do not hesitate to contact the Clinical Librarians
KnowledgeShare updates are targeted towards an individuals pre-selected interests. Updates focus on the evidence that can change practice, and the latest publications on quality, safety, education and patient experience.
To sign-up download the KnowledgeShare form and email to Library.qah@porthosp.nhs.uk
These documents list some of the published and unpublished papers written by or in association with PHT members of staff. This database is a living document and it is updated on a monthly basis to include new and recent publications. n.b. The database is being reformatted into the newer version.
Database: August 2018-February 2020
There are a variety of different support services available to all members of staff undertaking clinical and academic research. There are links below to the different services offered by both the Library and the Research and Development department.
PHT supports the next generation of NHS employees and returning students from numerous Universities in the region.
If you would like assistance on how to find the best evidence to support your study, please contact Clinical.Librarian@porthosp.nhs.uk
Below you will find links to your institution and their library support.
Overall Guidance for Health Resources
Study Skills Calendar and Recordings
Guidance for students based in Portsmouth and Yeovil
Discover how to assess a clinical paper for reliability and relevance.
NHS Evidence and HDAS - Healthcare Databases Advanced Search
If you need further help, please contact the Clinical Librarian team Clinical.Librarian@porthosp.nhs.uk
Worried about finding reliable and trustworthy health information online?
Download our useful guide: Finding Good Quality Health Information on the Internet
The Library strategy provides the library service with a direction to work towards.
This 'plan of action' provides details of how the staff are to work according to the overall business plan/strategy of Portsmouth Hospitals NHS trust and other trusts depending on relevant SLAs.
View the: Library Strategy
View the: Library and eLearning Services support to Trust Vision and Strategy Objectives
This page summarises what is permitted under the current NHS CLA Licence
NHS staff may copy (photocopy) and scan (digital) from printed journals and books under the terms of the licence.
Please note there are excluded categories and excluded works
For further advice on issues relating to copyright, please contact the library staff.
Copies must be for NHS staff and for NHS purposes.
Limits on copying:
You may copy up to two articles from a journal issue (more if it is a thematic issue).
~ This should be no more than 5% of the journal issue.
One chapter from a book
~ This should be no more than 5% of the total number of pages in the book.
Within these extent limits, multiple copies can be made (e.g. for teaching purposes, meetings, journal clubs, etc).
Single paper copies relating to a patient’s condition or treatment may be made for patients and carers.
Scanned copies may be sent via NHS e-mail but not placed on web sites. Scanned copies can be used in PowerPoint presentations.
You should always acknowledge the source of your copies.
No copies may be made from newspapers
You should:
Only download and print material for the purposes of private study and non commercial research.
Always check copyright notices on websites.
Ask permission if you want to make more than one copy.
Not copy images or any other electronic media without permission.
e-journals are covered by publisher licences, and generally you may only print out an article once.
A copyright poster must be displayed next to any photocopier and scanner within the NHS.
