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PALS - advice and support

Patient Advice and Liaison Services (PALS) is available to assist with any concerns you may have with the healthcare you are receiving and can help resolve problems or provide independent advice.

PALS stands for Patient Advice and Liaison Services (PALS).

PALS are available to assist with any concerns or feedback you may have with the healthcare you are receiving from Warrington or Halton hospital and can help resolve problems or provide independent advice.


What is PALS?

PALS is an independent and confidential service that offers advice and support to patients, their families, and carers. As a patient, relative or carer sometimes you may need to turn to someone for help, assistance, or support. PALS helps you to sort out any problems or concerns you may have about the care we provide, guiding you, your family or friends through the different services available within the NHS.

PALS encourage patients, relatives, and carers to speak with the staff involved in your care or speak with the department/ward manager in the first instance. If have tried this and are still unhappy, PALS can be a facilitator. 

The PALS service aims to:

•    Advise and support patients, relatives, and carers.
•    Provide information on other NHS services.
•    Listen to your concerns, suggestions, or feedback.
•    Help resolve concerns quickly on your behalf by liaising with other staff.
 


Is PALS independent?

Yes, PALS are an independent service. Although, to deal with your concerns, we will need to discuss this with the relevant team/department. 

The role of a PALS officer to help you and provide an independent service - resolving your issue as quickly as possible. They act independently when handling patient and family concerns - liaising with nursing and medical staff, managers and others to resolve problems and provide prompt solutions.

However, PALS does not replace the formal NHS Complaints Procedure and any person wishing to pursue a formal complaint can find out more in the concerns and formal complaints section of the website here.

What PALS cannot help with:

  • PALS cannot give medical advice or information.
  • PALS are unable to discuss a medical diagnosis.
  • PALS cannot influence or bring forward treatment or appointments.
  • PALS are unable to alter decisions made regarding care, treatment or discharge plans.
  • PALS cannot offer a counselling service.
  • PALS are unable to provide copies of a patient’s medical records (but can signpost to the right department who can help with this).
  • PALS are unable to help with queries relating to primary care providers, such as your GP, pharmacist or optician, or mental health services. 

Contacting PALS

The service is available between 10am and 4pm Monday to Friday. Outside these hours a 24 hour voicemail service is available and a member of the PALS team will call you back as soon as possible.


Visiting the PALS office

The PALS office is located in the main entrance area at Warrington Hospital. No appointment is necessary but please bear in mind that other patients may be seeing the PALS team.

The PALS Office walk in hours at Warrington are Monday - Friday, 10am - 4pm*. However, please note, this can sometimes differ if the team need to visit a patient on the ward.

*Opening times are subject to change