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.
Date: 03 September 2021
As part of NHS England's 'Next Generation of Nursing' initiative, Sue Atkins, senior sister of the alcohol specialist nurse service and Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust has shared her story of why she chose nursing as her career and the path it has taken her on since training in 1976.
How long have you been a nurse?
I first started nurse training in 1976 after completing a pre-nursing course and Highbury College. I initially trained as a psychiatric nurse with a speciality in psychodynamic therapy. Whist working in psychiatry I was fortunate to explore most areas, but I favoured adolescent psychiatry.
I took the opportunity to train in the adult branch as a general nurse in 1998, working in the medical wards and progressing to specialist nurse in haematology. As a dual trained nurse, I was offered a position on the Acute Medical Unit (AMU) working with patients who had been admitted with deliberate self-harm. This then led me to managing an AMU at St Mary's Community Health Campus.
How would you describe your role?
I work to identify and put in place treatment for patients with alcohol dependence and reduce the likelihood of patients experiencing future ill-health that is alcohol related. Alcohol specialist nurses provide specialist interventions and input into the care of alcohol dependent patients admitted for any reason, ensuring high quality and appropriate care. We liaise with community alcohol services and others, to ensure that patients continue to get alcohol treatment following discharge from hospital if they need it.
Why did you choose nursing?
The nursing and medical profession runs throughout past generations within my family and is continuing within my own family.
When I was working as a senior sister on the AMU, it became evident that there was a gap in the service for people admitted with alcohol related issues. I was given the opportunity to start a service to address this which is now in its 11th year and is nationally recognised, I’m incredibly proud of that and the team who support it.
Nursing is a wonderful profession, whether it is giving patients the tools to regain both their physical and mental health or supporting people through end-of-life care.
How does working closely with patients impact your everyday life?
Working with patients and their families is very rewarding and practicing within a multidisciplinary service means that every day is educational.
Any advice for someone thinking about nursing as a career?
Nursing will offer you variety in your career. You will be afforded the opportunity to work in different roles, different settings and with different populations - your working day will range from the routine to the exciting.
I think you will need to be aware that this is not a 9-5 career choice, we must work evenings, weekends, and night duty so a keen interest in people and kindness is important.
Finally, nursing it is not a tick box job, you get to continually update yourself and there is always the opportunity to learn and improve no matter how your career progresses.
For more information about the NextGen Nursing initiative, please visit: https://www.england.nhs.uk/
