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: 30 March 2023
Two pastoral support workers from Portsmouth who have made a huge impact on staff wellbeing, recruitment and retention at the city’s Queen Alexandra Hospital are celebrating after winning a prestigious national award.
Andrea Smart and Tracy Crossin, both part of the Pastoral Support team at Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust, have been awarded the Chief Nursing Officer Award from NHS England.
The coveted award has been developed by NHS England to reward the outstanding contribution made by nurses and healthcare support workers in their everyday roles.
Tracy and Andrea have helped to reduce healthcare support worker vacancies at the Trust from 250 to 19. Their role is to champion and support new members of staff, as well as attend recruitment fairs to speak to job seekers about the role.
The award ceremony was hosted by the Trust’s Chief Nurse Liz Rix and Annette Farrell from NHS England. Liz said: “Healthcare support workers are the backbone of the NHS and the work Tracy and Andrea are doing, helping with pastoral care, means that new starters feel supported. They are there to help them with the emotional journey new starters experience as they are often working in care for the first time.
“We are so grateful to have them as part of our team here at PHU. They have been exceptional and are making such a difference to the care of patients in Portsmouth and the future of nursing at PHU.”
Andrea, a mum of three from Fareham, joined the Trust in 2016 as a healthcare support worker after working with children with profound learning difficulties for many years. She says she wanted to make a difference to those who work at the hospital and also to those who stay. She said: “I wanted to work with adults, care for them and feel that I am making a difference to the patients in hospital during a difficult time in their life.
“I am so very proud and honoured to have received the Chief Nursing Officer's Award I feel that pastoral support is vital and very much needed. The role can be very challenging at times, yet so rewarding. I thoroughly enjoy making a difference to the healthcare support workers wellbeing. I am passionate about making a difference to the experience that the healthcare support workers receive when they join the Trust and to know that they have the guidance and support of the pastoral team.”
Mum of three Tracy, from Southsea, has worked for the Trust for three years. She had previously worked as a senior healthcare assistant in an end of life dementia nursing home and says she joined the Trust to make a difference and help others when they needed it most.
Said Tracy: “I was completely blown away to receive the Chief Nursing Award and to know that others can see how hard I work in my role means a lot.
“I love every aspect of being part of the Pastoral Support Team, it can be challenging at times and things can weigh heavy on the heart but that’s what makes it worth coming in to work every day.
To know that I could put a smile on someone’s face when they are at their lowest or guide another in the right direction just by listening and letting them know they aren’t alone. We are their voice.
“I also love the recruitment aspect of it too as we get to talk to lots of different people and share our stories of being a healthcare support worker and why it’s such an amazing job.”
