Why Island patients come here
Queen Alexandra Hospital is the mainland oculoplastic centre for the Isle of Wight. That is not a marketing line, it is how the regional service is organised: the unit covers Portsmouth, south east Hampshire and the Island, and takes over a thousand new referrals a year across that population.
Three consultant oculoplastic surgeons work here, more than any other unit in the region. We run the only joint periocular oncology multidisciplinary team meeting nearby, which brings Mohs surgeons, oculoplastic surgeons and maxillofacial surgeons together rather than moving a patient between separate clinics, and the only joint lacrimal clinic. The endoscopic lacrimal service is the highest volume in the region, with weekly operating lists that I lead.
For Island patients that concentration is the whole point. If you are making a crossing, you want the trip to be to a unit that does this work every week rather than occasionally.
Planning around the ferry
I am conscious that a hospital appointment from the Island is a half day at minimum, and that a 20 minute clinic visit can cost you a whole morning of travel. The practical consequences are worth stating plainly.
Most eyelid procedures need three contacts: a consultation to assess and plan, the operation itself as a day case, and a review at around a week to remove sutures. Where the diagnosis is clear and the plan is straightforward, I will try to compress the first two into a single visit. Suture removal can often be arranged with your GP practice or a local nurse, and I am happy to write with instructions.
What I will not do is compress things that should not be compressed. Eyelid surgery is planned on measurements taken with you sitting up and awake, and some decisions are better made at a separate visit than rushed on the morning of surgery. If that means an extra crossing, I will say so and explain why.
Tell my secretary you are travelling from the Island when you book. It changes how we schedule.
What I treat
- Upper eyelid surgery and lower eyelid surgery
- Ptosis correction for a drooping upper eyelid
- Entropion and ectropion repair
- Watery eye assessment and scarless endoscopic tear duct surgery
- Thyroid eye disease and orbital decompression
- Eyelid skin cancer excision and reconstruction
Getting here from the Island
The Wightlink car ferry from Fishbourne to Portsmouth lands closest to the hospital, and it is roughly 15 minutes north from the terminal up to Cosham. Queen Alexandra Hospital sits at PO6 3LY just off the A27, with multi-storey parking on site.
As a foot passenger, the Ryde to Portsmouth catamaran connects to the train at Portsmouth Harbour, and Cosham is a few stops up the line with a short bus or taxi at the other end. If you are having sedation you will need someone with you to travel home.
Arranging an appointment
For private care, contact my secretary Gina Stacey. A referral letter from your GP or optometrist is helpful but not essential if you are funding yourself, and insured patients will need a pre-authorisation code. I am recognised by Aviva, Allianz, Alliance Healthcare, Bupa and Vitality.
For NHS care, ask your GP or optometrist on the Island to refer you to the eye department at Queen Alexandra Hospital.