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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: 17 April 2023
“I can’t thank QA Hospital enough – you saved my life”
A Romsey mum of two who received a kidney from her husband of 24 years is sharing her story to thank him and the hospital staff who she says saved her life.
Beccy Hoddinott-Isaac underwent a life-saving kidney transplant in late February at Queen Alexandra Hospital in Cosham after her health deteriorated.
Beccy, 50, has Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease (ADPKD), an inherited condition that causes small fluid-filled sacs called cysts to develop in the kidneys.
She was diagnosed with the disease when she was 24 after going to her GP with high blood pressure. An ultrasound revealed she had cysts on her liver and kidneys, and she has been closely monitored by medical staff ever since.
In 2021, doctors said her condition was worsening and a pre-emptive transplant was the best option. Her husband Mark, a retired company director, proved to be a perfect match for her.
Beccy explained: “My condition runs in my family – my grandmother had kidney failure and sadly passed away in 1996. My father had kidney disease and his brother died from kidney failure. My wonderful transplant coordinator Lucy has cared for three generations of my family throughout the years.
“When they told me I needed a kidney transplant, Mark straight away said he would be screened to see if he was a match. I was told that live donations from male to female are the most successful and I felt incredibly lucky Mark was a match and would go through this procedure for me.”
Gynaecology nurse Beccy, who works at a private hospital in Chandlers Ford, and husband Mark spent over a year preparing for their major operations. Beccy continued: “There were lots of hospital appointments, MRI scans, visits to cardiologists, chest x-rays and counselling sessions – all to make sure we were both fit and well, physically and emotionally.
“We were both really nervous before the operations, especially thinking of our two children, as the ops don’t come without risk. Our children though are so proud of their Dad and what he has done for me, I can’t thank him enough and all the wonderful hospital staff who cared for us during this time.
“The hospital staff at QA are all so caring – from the nurses to the surgeons, they are all phenomenal. Thank you!”
Mark added: “Donating a kidney was something I always thought I’d explore from the moment we knew that one day Beccy would need a transplant.
“A part of me thought the chances of me being a match would be slim. I was both nervous and relieved to find I was a match and it was my privilege to do it.
“The Wessex Renal team were outstanding and although I knew I wanted to do it, I couldn’t have got through it without the care and attention they gave me.”
Around 100 kidney transplants are performed each year at the Wessex Kidney Centre (WKC) at Queen Alexandra Hospital – a regional renal and transplant centre. The unit also looks after more than 1,500 patients on renal replacement therapy (transplant, haemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis).
Lucy Chester, Living Donor Transplant Coordinator at Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust, said: “I am very privileged to have such an incredible job - it’s always varied, and I am lucky to be able to work so closely with a fantastic group of staff. I am also greatly privileged to be able to work so closely with such inspiring and resilient patients.”
Lucy is passionate about organ donation and can see first-hand what an incredible gift it is and what a huge benefit it has to a person’s life: ““ To be instrumental in helping Mark through this process to enable him to donate his kidney to his wife Beccy is the best part of my job.
“To witness the transformation his kidney donation gives to Beccy’s quality of life is all the reward I need.”
Beccy is now being closely monitored by the transplant team at the Trust, but says so far tests have revealed her kidney function is now at 90 per cent, an amazing recovery from a pre-op function of just 10 per cent.
She hopes to return to work in June and continue her hobbies of walking her sausage dog Snoop, gardening and baking cakes for her family.
For more information on transplants at Queen Alexandra Hospital visit: https://www.porthosp.nhs.uk/departments/renal/
