The Queen Alexandra – named for Alexandra of Denmark - was originally built between 1904 and 1908 to replace an earlier hospital which stood in Lion Street in Portsea with buildings of red brick construction in a largely rural area, linked to Portsmouth and the surrounding villages by a tram service.
But much has changed and the hospital site looks very different today. The demilitarisation of the hospital began in 1926 and following the creation of the National Health Service in 1948, all but 100 of the 640 beds were transferred to the NHS in 1951, with the remainder reserved for ex-servicemen. Development of the hospital under the NHS was rapid, and a Cerebral Palsy Unit built in 1955 as well as classrooms and therapy rooms. The unit opened in 1956, followed in 1957 by an outpatients unit, and in 1958 by the hospital chapel.
In the 1960s a number of the buildings were also upgraded and became a district general hospital, complete with an Accident and Emergency department, leading to the construction of a number of new buildings including an eye department, wards, training school for nurses and staff accommodation. and a library was also added. Patients were transferred from the Royal Portsmouth Hospital in the city centre in 1979, with the renamed Queen Alexandra Hospital officially opened a year later by Princess Alexandra.
In the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s improvements continued and some of the original buildings of the military hospital were demolished to make way for the new main hospital buildings, with some services at St Mary’s Hospital – including the renal unit and some maternity services – as well as services at the Royal Hospital Haslar in Gosport transferred to a new ‘super hospital’ . In October 2009 the new QA Hospital was officially opened by The Princess Royal.
Work to expand the site has continued with a 72 bed ward built in what was previously the North Car Park, as well as a new multi-story car park. Work is now currently ongoing to create a new Accident and Emergency Department.
1. Queen Alexandra Hospital over the years
QA Ambulance in 1983 Photo: Portsmouth Hospitals Trust
3. Queen Alexandra Hospital over the years
Ward sister Brenda Dillon checks in with leukemia patient Daphne Cuff September 1995 Photo: Portsmouth Hospitals Trust
4. Queen Alexandra Hospital over the years
Site of the new development at Queen Alexandra Hospital. In the background is Portsdown Park. Originally a military hospital, The Queen Alexandra (named for Alexandra of Denmark) was built between 1904 and 1908 to replace an earlier hospital which stood in Lion Street in Portsea, Portsmouth Photo: The News