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.
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: 18 August 2021
Expectant mums are being encouraged to get the COVID-19 vaccine to protect themselves and their baby.
New data shows, nationally, most pregnant women hospitalised with the virus have not had the vaccine.
Figures also revealed that no pregnant women with both doses of the vaccine had been admitted to hospital.
Aimee Styles had her first COVID-19 Pfizer vaccination at 14 weeks pregnant while at 22 weeks pregnant Emily Reed has had both doses of the vaccine.
Aimee from Denmead is expecting a baby girl on New Year’s Eve. The 31-year-old decided to have the vaccine at 14 weeks after reading medical research and getting advice from healthcare professionals.
She said: “For me getting the COVID-19 vaccine was about protecting myself and my baby and reducing the risk of getting COVID-19. It is important to feel comfortable with your decision, but I think there is lot of misleading information out there on social media and it is important to speak to doctors and your midwife. I also read a lot of medical journals and research around the data and I would advise other pregnant mums to get advice from the experts if they are a bit worried.
“My sister-in-law is also pregnant at the moment and we chatted about the advice I had got, and she is getting her vaccine now as well to protect herself and her baby.”
Aimee is getting her second vaccine next week and then is looking forward to welcoming her first child in the new year.
Emily is expecting her second child and received her first vaccine at eight weeks pregnant.
The 32-year-old from Southampton said: “I was invited to have my first vaccine and I told them that I was pregnant. They passed me over to a nurse for advice who was helpful and told me it was fine to have the Pfizer jab to protect me.
“It is a personal choice but for me it was not worth the risk knowing that COVID could mean that I or my baby could be unwell and need admitting to hospital.
“I was also quite early in my pregnancy and it would have left me vulnerable for a while if I were to have waited to have if after the birth and I know that pregnant women who haven’t been jabbed have been very unwell in hospital.”
In the last three months alone, one in three pregnant women in hospital with COVID-19 in England required additional respiratory support (33%), with more than a third developing pneumonia (37%), and around one in seven needing intensive care (15%).
The data also shows that one in five women admitted to hospital with serious COVID symptoms went on to give birth prematurely, and the likelihood of delivery by caesarean section doubled. One in five babies born to mothers with COVID symptoms were also admitted to neonatal units.
Clinical lead midwife for public health at Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust and prevention lead for SHIP maternity (Southampton, Hampshire, Isle of Wight and Portsmouth) Debbie Hill said: “Thousands of women have received the COVID-19 vaccine in pregnancy with no reported ill effects and the vaccine is also safe to have if you are breast feeding.
“It is known that the COVID-19 vaccine does not cross the placenta, but the antibodies you make do helping to protect your baby and recent studies have shown that no pregnant women that had had both of her vaccines had been admitted to hospital with COVID-19.
“Vaccines save lives and getting the COVID-19 jab can keep you and your baby safe and out of hospital.”
Data from the United States shows that more than 130,000 pregnant women have been vaccinated without any safety concerns being raised and more than 55,000 pregnant women in the UK have also received at least one dose of the vaccine.
Based on this data, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) advised earlier this year that pregnant women should be offered the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines.
Any pregnant women who have questions or concerns about the vaccine can speak to their GP, midwife or obstetrician to get more information and advice.
To book an appointment to get your jab, visit the NHS National Booking Service website or call 119 between 7am and 11pm.
For more information about the COVID-19 vaccine and pregnant, The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists have put together a Q&A to provide further information.
