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 November 2023
Note: for a video of Dr Mark Roland discussing how you can help during a critical incident, please follow this link.
A critical incident was declared by Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust yesterday (Wednesday 1 November 2023) due to the sustained high demand our services are seeing and the number of patients needing to admission through our Emergency Department.
The Emergency Department (ED) at Queen Alexandra Hospital will continue to redirect patients to alternative services when appropriate and would like to remind our communities that the ED is only for people with life threatening conditions or injuries.
Our dedicated teams are working hard to make sure the needs of our patients are being met; however, this has become increasingly difficult as demand rises. To protect the safe provision of services we are working closely with partners across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight and are also asking for your help.
Ahead of winter, we have already seen:
Dr Mark Roland, Deputy Medical Director at Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust, said: "We are seeing a high number of people attending our Emergency Department and it is currently full with patients requiring admission. This means that we are seeing delays for both patients arriving by ambulance and those walking in that are much longer than we would like.
“The safety and wellbeing of our patients and our staff is important and unfortunately, due to the sustained and significant pressure we have been facing, we were having difficulty maintaining this and have declared a critical incident. This means we will be prioritising the treatment of emergency patients and anyone who attends the Emergency Department but doesn’t need to be treated there will be redirected to an alternative service.
“To help us care for unwell patients in our communities who require admission to hospital, we need to create space, so our immediate priority is to work with partners and our patients to safely discharge anyone who is ready to return home or to an alternative place of care. If you have loved ones in the hospital who are well enough to be discharged, we need you to help get them home in an appropriate time frame."
This includes ensuring they have clothing to travel in and you have arranged appropriate transport. More information on how you can help with this can be found on our website.
Mark added, “We urge you to not attend the Emergency Department unless it’s an emergency. Non-emergency attendances will not be seen and you will be redirected to the Urgent Treatment Centres at St Mary’s Hospital, Gosport and Petersfield. If you need to know where to get help and support, please go to NHS 111 Online."
Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust will be reviewing the situation regularly and thanks our staff, communities and partners for their ongoing support.
If you’re unsure what support is available, our website includes lots of advice to help you #KnowWhereToGo.
