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 August 2023
A new care pathway has been developed by the Portsmouth Hospital University NHS Trust Maternity Team and Portsmouth Down Syndrome Association (Portsmouth DSA) to provide additional support and information to help parents prepare for their new baby.
The collaborative pathway was set up after feedback from families that having more support would have helped them know what to expect during their pregnancy and after the birth of their baby.
Support will be offered to all families who are expecting to have a baby with Down syndrome and includes:
Director of Midwifery Lynn Woolley said: “This collaboration really matters as it allows a whole team approach to wrapping a holistic package of care around parents from the antenatal period until the birth of their new baby and beyond.
“Having the expertise and experience of a team will make a very positive difference to parents. We are very grateful to everyone in this collaboration for their commitment to making it happen.”
Portsmouth Down Syndrome Association Chairperson Rachael Ross MBE added: “We are delighted to have collaborated with the Portsmouth Hospital Midwifery Screening, Fetal Medicine, Infant Feeding, Neonatal and Community Paediatric Teams to have developed this first care pathway.”
Mum Jade gave birth to Henry, who was born with Down syndrome in 2022 at Queen Alexandra Hospital.
She said: “As a parent who would have benefited from this support last year, I am very happy to see this.
“This support would have enabled me to feel much more confident and I would have been very grateful for this level of personalised support for me and my baby.”
Antenatal and Newborn Screening Specialist Midwife, Julia Langley added: “We wanted to ensure the care provided was not just medical but considered the social and emotional needs of families as well.
“By offering some additional appointments in the antenatal period it provides an opportunity for to start building trusting relationships with the professionals who will be involved in their baby’s care. In addition, parents’ can ask questions and hopefully reduce some of their anxieties to ensure their babies get off to the best possible start.”
If you would like to find out more information about the new pathway, you can contact the antenatal and newborn screening midwives on 02392 286000 ext 3740, or speak to the Portsmouth Down Syndrome Association on welcome@portsmouthdsa.org
Portsmouth Down Syndrome Association website: https://portsmouthdsa.org/
PHU Maternity Services: https://www.porthosp.nhs.uk/departments-&-services/maternity-services/97964
(First picture: Jade her son, Henry).
