NHS Devon

Quality, Effectiveness, Openness, Improvement, Respect

Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS)

Each Health Trust in England has a Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS), to give confidential support to the public when they need help using their health and social care services.

The NHS is a complex organisation and the information that it produces can be difficult to understand. If you need any help or assistance, contact the Patient Advice and Liaison Team.

Contact PALS for NHS Devon

Telephone: 0845 111 0080 or 01392 267665
E mail: pals.nhsdevon@nhs.net
Or wite to: PALS, NHS Devon, County Hall, Topsham Road, Exeter EX2 4QL

If you live in North Devon, contact PALS at
Telephone: 01271 314 090
Email: pals@ndevon.swest.nhs.uk
Or visit or write to: Information Centre, Level 2, North Devon District Hospital, Raleigh Park, Barnstaple, EX31 4JB

What can you use PALS for?

Information:

someone to explain how things work in the NHS
find you sources of advice
support and information
ask questions on your behalf

Advice and support:

to talk through what is worrying you
identify options to resolve things
take action for you if you choose.

This may include information about, or referral to, other useful agencies.

Feedback:

we take the messages about your experience
make sure these are used to prevent repeats of the poor elements
pass on your appreciation of the good ones

Resolving complex issues:

The NHS is a series of complicated organisations.

we can help to coordinate the efforts to get things resolved across different agencies
get messages to the right people
join the puzzle pieces so you get the care that works for you.

This can include long term support issues while in ongoing care

If you have an issue to resolve, we will try to help you get action without having to make a formal complaint

Can I talk to PALS in confidence?

The PALS is a confidential service. No details about you or the issues you raise are passed on without your knowledge and consent.

All actions taken are discussed and agreed with you.

If you wish, we can work on your issue without knowing your name. However this may limit the level of detail we can obtain as a response.
We report the types of issue raised by the public to influence service improvement planning, and we do this without any specific case details.

Which PALS do I contact?

Each Health organisation has a PALS.

Make one call, email or write in to your local service, or call in to PALS offices at major hospitals.

PALS will sort out who needs to address your issue and if need be pass it on to other organisations with your permission.

If PALS doesn’t solve the problem, what next?

Using PALS doesn’t prevent you having other options.

If PALS cannot resolve the situation to your satisfaction, you can still use the formal complaints process of the trust, and we will explain how to do this and provide you with contact details for the agency who can support you.

Click the link for further information about Complaints.

Tips for letting us know when you aren’t satisfied with services

If you aren’t happy tell us!

Staff aim to plan services well and carry out care well at all times, but service users can often add detail to make things better.

So if something doesn’t work well, let staff know.

If you have been upset and need time to recover, take the time but come back and say what went wrong.

If you only tell friends and family, we won’t hear your message and learn from it.

Ways to let us know

Talk directly to staff caring for you. If it is urgent, do it straight away.

If you are upset and feel uncomfortable, consider writing or asking for a meeting later to raise your issues.

What you have to say is more effective if you have asked for time and a quiet place to speak.

In a community hospital ask to speak to the ward manager or matron.

In a GP or dentist practice, talk to or write to the practice manager.

They will be pleased to hear your views and feed them into practice planning where possible.

They can also speak to staff on your behalf to sort out problems.

In other services, ask to speak to a service manager or ask for their contact details to write to.

Think through your experience, take notes of the essential details and try to write down what main points worry you and what actions you want.

This helps staff to identify the problems quickly and respond to you accurately.

If you have more general ideas about improving services , which you would like to put forward, join a local practice support group, join local voluntary groups engaged in supporting patients and carers, or volunteer to join local planning forums.

Contact Devon Local Involvement Networks - Devon LINks

How you can help staff do a good job.

If you’re going for an appointment, give yourself time to arrive and be calm.
Make a list of:

questions
symptoms
things to check

If you are expecting news of a diagnosis, and are too worried to listen well, ask a friend to come with you to listen and take notes.

Let staff know if your condition changes or anything is going wrong.

If treatment is not working, go back and say so after the trial period advised.

If you are in hospital , let staff know what members of your family they may give information to, and ask those named family members to let others in your family or friends know how you are progressing.

Further information related to "How you can help staff do a good job":

Getting the most from GP appointments

Getting the most out of your appointment, GP or specialist - Questions to ask

What questions should I ask at my appointment?

Being Open

NHS Devon has pledged to support patients, staff and partner agencies if they feel something has gone wrong with our services to them. Click the link to navigate to full details of the Being Open policy.