Queen Alexandra Hospital asks patients' families for help after critical incident and with junior doctors set to strike

Queen Alexandra Hospital is still seeing high numbers of very unwell patients needing care through the Emergency Department and all its urgent and emergency services are busy.

Last week, the Portsmouth Hospitals University Trust declared a critical incident due to the sustained and significant pressures, leading to delays for patients arriving by ambulance and those walking in. Planned strike action involving junior doctors is also due to take place from 7.00am on Wednesday, December 20 to 7.00am on Saturday, December 23 – and the hospital is asking the public for support. Families of those recieving treatment at the Cosham medical facility are asked to help “by helping make sure they are ready to return home when well enough to do so”.

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Mark Roland, deputy medical director at Portsmouth Hospitals University (PHU) NHS Trust, said: "The safety of our patients and staff remains our top priority. We will continue working with our teams and system partners to ensure the safety and welfare of our patients and our colleagues, as well as looking to minimise disruption during strike action where possible.”

Liz Rix, Chief Nurse at PHU said: “Our priority is patient safety. Getting those home who no longer need to be in hospital means that they can continue recovery and we have the space to help the next patient in Portsmouth who needs urgent care. We know that the longer patients stay in hospital, the more at risk they are of muscle weakness, walking difficulties, falls and fractures so working with families to get their loved ones home quickly is important. By helping transport your loved ones home you will reduce the time they need to stay with us.”

During the winter months, there are more likely to be infections such as flu, cold, diarrhoea and vomiting, and COVID circulating. People showing symptoms of these conditions are asked to If you have a friend or family to help reduce the chance of passing on anything to patients or staff.

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John Knighton, chief medical officer at PHU, said: “While we are seeing relatively low numbers of patients with COVID coming into hospital, we are starting to see more patients with respiratory illness and stomach bugs attending. To reduce the risk of spreading infection, we ask that if you have any respiratory symptoms or feel unwell to please postpone your visit until you feel better. We know that this will be upsetting, particularly over the Christmas period, but we need to protect our most vulnerable patients. We would like to thank our community, our staff and our partners for their support during this challenging time.”

Planned and routine non-urgent care is expected to be disrupted during the strike.

The hospital also issued the following advice for those planning to visit over the festive period: “Please wash or gel your hands to help minimise the spread of infections. If you have symptoms of such as diarrhoea or vomiting, please do not visit the hospital until you have been clear of those symptoms for at least 48 hours. If you have symptoms of the flu or a cold, including a high temperature, try to stay at home and avoid contact with other people. If you have loved ones in hospital but are unable to visit, please contact our Family Liaison team who can help with getting messages or arranging video calls.”