Queen Alexandra Hospital staff show their thanks as Portsmouth rallies behind frontline NHS heroes

Kindhearted residents have made hundreds of donations to the Cosham hospital, from food to face masks and financial contributions.

People have been clapping in the streets for NHS staff, and windows across the city have been dedicated to our health care heroes.

The News has also launched the Help Our QA Heroes campaign, to collect essentials for the NHS staff working tirelessly across the city.

Mark Cubbon, chief executive of Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust – which runs QA Hospital in Cosham – says staff members are incredibly grateful for the support they have been getting during this crisis.

He said: ‘I continue to be overwhelmed by the kindness and support for individuals at QA and for our NHS and care colleagues across Portsmouth and South East Hampshire, particularly at this challenging time.

‘Over the past days and weeks we’ve seen a huge amount of generosity and consideration given to our teams, who are doing their very best for our patients while dealing with increasing pressures.

Portsmouth fire station makes beautiful tribute to city's hard-working NHS staff

‘From the hundreds of donations to the Help Our QA Heroes campaign, to donations from local businesses, to the Spinnaker Tower being lit up blue in support of the NHS and care colleagues, the continued kindness shown by our communities is incredible. It is also heartening to hear of so many people taking part in the ‘clap for carers’ tribute to thank NHS and care workers.’

Mr Cubbon added that the staff at QA Hospital are ‘continuing to do their best for patients’ each day, saying there is a great sense of gratitude around the hospital.

Senior sister at QA’s acute medical unit, Rosie Chilvers, added: ‘We’ve always had such great support from the patients and communities that use our services, but the response we have had over the last few weeks has been phenomenal.

‘I know I speak on behalf of my amazing colleagues when I say thank you. The next few weeks and months aren’t going to be easy, but knowing we have everyone including our local paper backing us is really incredible.’

A message from the Editor

Thank you for reading this story on portsmouth.co.uk. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers - and consequently the revenue we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

Subscribe to portsmouth.co.uk and enjoy unlimited access to local news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit our Subscription page now to sign up.

Our journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.