Patient Advice & Liaison Services (PALS)

Introduction

The Patient Advice and Liaison Service focuses on improving the service to NHS Patients.

The PALS Service is available Monday to Thursday 9am to 5pm and Friday 9am - 4.30pm. There may be times when the PALS offices are closed. Staff can always be contacted by telephone or a message can be left on the answer phone. Any messages will be dealt with as soon as possible

The function of PALS is to:

• Provide the public with information about the NHS and help them with any other health-related enquiry
• Help resolve concerns or problems when they are using the NHS
• Provide information about the NHS complaints procedure and how to get independent help if they decide they may want to make a complaint
• Provide the public with information and help introduce them to agencies and support groups outside the NHS
• Inform the public about how they can get more involved in their own healthcare and the NHS locally
• Improve the NHS by listening to concerns, suggestions and experiences and ensuring that people who design and manage services are aware of the issues raised
• Provide an early warning system for NHS Trusts and monitoring bodies by identifying problems or gaps in services and reporting them
• Provide support for staff

Interpreters

Interpreter or translation services may be required for patients / carers for whom English is not the first language, or for those with hearing difficulties, where a sign language interpreter is needed. It may also occasionally be necessary to obtain textual translations from or to other languages, for example of medical notes or instructions.

Public/User Involvement

This Trust currently has numerous systems in place to promote public involvement, including focus and discussion groups, individual interviews, suggestion forms and evaluation questionnaires, and these will be extended on an ongoing basis. Please ask PALS for further information on how you can be involved.