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.
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: 11 May 2023
Time: 09:00
PHU and IWT are building a stronger partnership to help tackle the long-standing challenges of delivering healthcare for the Isle of Wight and ensure the provision of high quality, safe, and sustainable services to all the populations they serve.
The Acute Services Partnership from formalised in 2020 and it looked to address clinical and financial sustainability in some fragile, small scale acute services on the Isle of Wight. Since then, the partnership has seen improvements in Cardiology, Urology and Stroke Services on the Island.
Taking the next logical step in the partnership, a single Chief Executive, joint Executive Team and single clinical leadership will be established across both Trusts.
The first step of this process has been finalised and Penny Emerit, Chief Executive at Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust, has been confirmed as the new Chief Executive at Isle of Wight NHS Trust and will now oversee both Trusts.
Over the next few months Penny will appoint the joint Executive Team and clinical leadership across the two, separate, organisations. We will be retaining strong, experienced site leaders in Portsmouth and on the Island.
Darren Cattell, who has led Isle of Wight NHS Trust for the last 18 months, will join Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care Board (ICB) as Isle of Wight Place Director.
Darren and Penny’s appointments, strong working relationship, and their shared commitment to improving services will strengthen the Isle of Wight’s health and care system as we work towards delivering sustainable healthcare for all our local communities.
The two Trusts will work together to engage with patients, stakeholders and members of the public in all the communities that they serve. A range of engagement and feedback opportunities are being set up and details will be published on our websites, social media channels and sent out to our mailing list.
FAQS
What is the Acute Services Partnership?
It is a partnership between Isle of Wight NHS Trust (IWT) and Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust (PHU) to work together to tackle the challenges faced by acute services on the Isle of Wight and improve care for people who live in Portsmouth, Southeast Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.
It was established in 2020, with a Memorandum of Understanding, and a Partnership Board was created to provide executive leadership on the strategic direction for acute services delivered by PHU and IWT.
The partnership is underpinned by three key principles:
Teams have been working together to identify the critical risks in Island services and agree the best way forward.
You can read the Acute Services Strategy here.
What is happening now & why?
We have announced plans to strengthen our Acute Services Partnership. The first step is to confirm a single Chief Executive, Executive Team and single clinical leadership across our two organisations.
We will retain strong, experienced operational leadership teams in Portsmouth and on the Isle of Wight.
Our clinical leadership will lead the design and delivery of services across our two main hospital sites, for the benefit of all the populations we serve.
Our ambition is to create single clinical, corporate and support services that work across our two Trusts.
With our Hampshire and Isle of Wight system partners, we have been looking at how Isle of Wight services could be better organised to ensure they continue to improve and are made sustainable.
The Acute Services Partnership is happening at the same time as Community and Mental Health Services across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight are being brought together under a new Foundation Trust. This work is called Project Fusion.
How will this benefit people in Portsmouth and Southeast Hampshire?
Working together to plan and deliver high quality services across our combined population of 800,000 will bring benefits of scale, greater resilience and efficiency. This, in turn, means we can continue to improve services and people, wherever they live, can expect the best possible outcomes.
Will patients from the Isle of Wight put PHU under even more pressure?
Patients from the Island already access beds in Portsmouth and have for many years. We do not expect a significant increase in demand from Island patients as a result of these new arrangements.
As a result of the partnership with Isle of Wight NHS Trust, £10m was invested in additional capacity at the Queen Alexandra Hospital (QA) in Portsmouth benefitting both Island and mainland staff and patients through greater resilience at the QA Hospital.
Do you envisage any services being entirely on the Island and PHU patients travelling to the Island as happens in reverse?
We are working together to make sure that as much healthcare as possible can be retained in its current location and that patient travel is kept to a minimum.
Is this a merger?
We have made good progress in our Acute Services Partnership, but we want to go further for our patients.
Single leadership across our two Trusts is the logical next step to enable the creation of single clinical, corporate and support services.
We are not, however, considering a merger because we believe that the approach, we are taking is the best way to deliver the benefits for the communities we serve and the people who work in our teams.
In future, we may look at other ways to ensure high quality, sustainable services up to and including a merger.
Will there be one Board and how will both organisations be represented at this to provide fair representation and decision making?
PHU and IWT will remain two separate, statutory organisations which means they will each have a separate Board. We do already have the same Chair for both Trusts.
However, in addition to a joint Chair, the two Trusts have one other non-executive director (NED) appointed to both Boards (there is already one NED member sitting on both Boards). With a current Isle of Wight NED has been appointed to the Portsmouth Board. In due course, this model will be reviewed to determine if and when it is appropriate to appoint more NEDs to both Boards.
