Improving our sites for the future
Some of these improvements have already taken place, while others are still in development or yet to start. You can find out more about the different projects taking place below.
We also have extensive plans to improve the biodiversity on site by creating additional green spaces that can be enjoyed by our patients, colleagues and visitors, as well as more environmentally friendly actions to reduce our impact on the planet. You can read more about this on our sustainability section.
If you’d like to get involved in sharing your feedback on any of our projects, our Patient, Family and Carer Collaborative would love to hear from you. Email voluntary.
Opened on 26 November 2024
Supported by £58 million of national funding, our new Emergency Department (ED) provides an improved environment for adults and children across Portsmouth and the surrounding area to receive emergency care. It has better access for ambulances with a covered handover area, as well as designated drop off zone for patients. The building is also more energy efficient helping reduce our impact on the environment and material from the car park that used to stand on the site has been reused in the construction of the new ED.
Our current Emergency Department opened in 1979 and since then demand for urgent and emergency care has grown. While there have been some enhancements to the space, the layout remains challenging. The new building has been designed to improve on both staff and patient experience.
Benefits for patients:
- Faster access to diagnostics including new CT scanner
- Double the current resus capacity from four adult bays to eight
- Two additional paediatric resus bays for children
- More relaxing environment to receive care in
- Separate waiting areas for child and adult patients
- More privacy and improved infection control with patients being treated in single rooms
- An accredited Changing Places facility
Benefits for staff:
- The new design helps staff work in a more effective way
- Improved patient safety
- Improved environment to work in
- Dedicated rest areas for staff
- A link bridge will connect the new ED to the main hospital so patients requiring admission or further diagnostics can be moved quickly and safely
You can take a tour of the adults and children's departments below:
You can also watch a timelapse video of the build below:
The main entrance at QA Hospital extension opened in May 2024, providing additional space and facilities for patients and staff. These include:
Benefits for patients:
- An accredited Changing Places facility
- Improved food offer (M&S) and additional retail space (The Stock Shop)
Benefits for staff:
- New lecture theatre offering high quality training facilities on-site.
Work has now started on the North Entrance and due to be complete in 2025.
The Endoscopy Unit at QA Hospital provides a wide range of diagnostic and therapeutic procedures to more than 15,000 patients a year. Due to growing demand for day-patient procedures, a new unit is being developed on the ground floor of Lancaster House, near the north car park at QA Hospital. The new unit will offer additional capacity and recovery areas for patients before they are able to return home. It is due to open in early 2025.
Benefits for patients:
- Additional capacity to improve access and reduce waiting times.
- New and larger facilities for patients to be treated within.
Benefits for staff:
- Nicer work environment that’s build for the future.
- Additional development opportunities for the team.
The Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC) opened in 2021 with services being delivered at St Mary's Community Health Campus, Fareham Community Hospital and Oak Park Community Clinic (Havant.)
Plans are underway to develop the Rodney Road Centre to provide additional diagnostics capacity. This is currently scheduled to open in early 2025.
Benefits for patients:
- Improved access to a range of diagnostic services including imaging.
- Reduced travel time for many patients.
Benefits for staff:
Updated work environment and ability to work in closer partnership with other teams.
Two new theatres, Queen Alexandra Hospital
Two new theatres on the Queen Alexandra Hospital site opened in Summer 2024 and give us the opportunity to deliver a higher number of procedures to local residents and reduce the amount of people needing to travel to different sites for treatment. The new theatres also mean that when we are carrying out work in other theatre spaces, there won’t be a reduction in activity.
Benefits for patients:
- Extra capacity at patient’s local hospital
Benefits for staff:
- Reduction in last minute cancellations due to emergency repairs needing to be carried out
Fareham Renal Dialysis Centre, Fareham Community Hospital
This 25-bed Fareham Renal Dialysis Centre opened in August 2023 and provides life-saving services for kidney patients closer to home. The centre also provides services for local residents with Chronic Kidney disease (CKD) who would normally have to travel for specialist outpatient care, intravenous iron fusions, dialysis planning and education.
Benefits for patients:
- Reduced travel time
- Calm and relaxing environment to receive treatment
- Free on-site parking
Benefits for staff:
- Improved environment for staff to deliver care
Read more here: New renal dialysis centre opens for Hampshire and Portsmouth patients (porthosp.nhs.uk)
Garden of Life, Queen Alexandra Hospital
The Garden of Life opened in June 2021 and recognises the difference that organ donation can make and offers a green space for reflection that is close to the hospital and open to all. It is very popular in the summer months with picnic tables and benches. The garden also features some memorial stones from previous PHU sites.
Benefits for patients:
- Enough space for a hospital bed and wheelchairs so accessible to all
- Relaxing space away from the ward environment for patients and their visitors
- Lots of seating
Benefits for staff:
- Picnic benches and other seating options so a great place to sit on your break when the weather is nice.
Lotus Rehabilitation Garden, Queen Alexandra Hospital
Aimed at supporting the rehabilitation of patients who are receiving care on ward D10 at Queen Alexandra Hospital, the Lotus Rehabilitation Garden opened in August 2023 and includes different areas for patients to receive therapy as well as support their wellbeing through planting and access to fresh air.
Benefits for patients:
- Located next to the ward patients are receiving treatment on
- Safe space for patients and their families to get fresh air together
- Calm environment for patients to undertake rehab therapy
Benefits for staff:
- Less clinical environment for staff to deliver therapy to patients
- A space designed to incorporate different surfaces and inclines to provide therapy for patients at different stages of rehab
Read more here: New garden to support rehabilitation of patients opens at Queen Alexandra Hospital (porthosp.nhs.uk)
Rehabilitation wards, Queen Alexandra Hospital
This 72-bed ward building opened in December 2021 and is connected by a bridge to the existing rehabilitation and pathology departments. The building is located on the old North Car Park before the new multi-storey was built. The wards inside focus on patients requiring rehabilitation from head injuries or stroke.
Benefits for patients:
- Additional bed capacity
- Improved access to rehab services for patients in the Portsmouth and South East Hampshire, as well as the Isle of Wight
- Access to the Lotus Rehabilitation Garden
Benefits for staff:
- Nicer more purpose built working environment.
North multi-storey car park, Queen Alexandra Hospital
This four-storey car park opened in August 2022 and offers space for more than 500 vehicles near the North Entrance of the hospital. It offers parking for patients and visitors, as well as electric vehicle charging points and dedicated disabled parking bays.
Benefits for patients:
- Additional parking located near the North Entrance of the hospital as well as the rehab wing.
- Electric vehicle charging points to reduce impact on the environment.
Benefits for staff:
- Following installation of the electric vehicle charging points for patients and visitors, additional points were added at the Park and Ride for staff
Chemotherapy Unit, Fareham Community Hospital
This Regional Cancer Centre opened in March 2022 and provides care for patients from across south east Hampshire and West Sussex. With a growing number of patients requiring chemotherapy, this unit provides care closer to home.
Benefits for patients:
- Reduced travel time
- Calm and relaxing environment to receive treatment
- Free on-site parking
Benefits for staff:
- Improved environment for staff to deliver care
Read more here: New chemotherapy unit opens at Fareham Community Hospital to deliver cancer services more locally (porthosp.nhs.uk)
On Tuesday 26 November 2024, the old Emergency Department (C-level) at Queen Alexandra Hospital closed when the new department (B-level) opened. The old department, located a few minutes up the hill from the new department, had been in use since 1979 and was designed to care for many less people than we now see every day.
On the day of closing, teams safely made sure patients in the old department were cared for, while from 8am new patients began arriving at the new ED. This was an incredible effort from all our staff across the hospital and partner organisations such as South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust and our military colleagues. Thank you to everyone involved.
The last patient left the old department just before 3pm on 26 November 2024. Following this, we took some photos to show the old department before it was cleared and recorded a short walkthrough video, which you can view on this page.