The Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) is a free, confidential “front door” for West Yorkshire patients, their families, and carers. As a patient, relative, or carer, you may need to turn to someone for help, advice, and support. This is where the PALS can help.
We Can:
- Pass on Praise and Compliments to staff and services if you have had a good experience with our services.
- Help you resolve problems or concerns when using health services and agree on the best way to deal with and fix them as quickly as possible.
- Listen to you if you are worried and unsure what to do or where to go.
We will do this by:
- Providing information on NHS services.
- Pointing you in the right direction to other useful sources of information and support.
- Signposting to other organisations best placed to advise and assist.
- Listening to and using your feedback to help improve and develop the ICB’s services.
We will always ask for your permission before discussing personal information with others. We will only pass on information without your agreement in exceptional cases where your safety or that of others must be considered. We will always tell you if we have to do this.
Where the concern or query is more complex, consent will be gained, and input may be required from providers and teams within the ICB to assist with advice and information. The team will update you if the concern/query takes longer than expected.
Sometimes, we are not the best people to help you.
- We cannot provide health advice relating to your care and treatment.
- We cannot arrange appointments or medication for you.
Each of our NHS trusts has a Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) team you can contact for information and advice regarding the care you or your loved one is receiving. They can provide details on waiting times and assist you in arranging or altering appointments, among other things.
NHS Complaints Procedure
If you have any concerns that our PALS has not been able to resolve to your satisfaction, our team will explain the complaints procedure.
- They will direct you to whoever is best placed to help you. This may be our own complaints team or our colleagues at NHS providers.
- Your complaint should be raised
- Within 12 months of the event or
- Within 12 months of realising that you have something to complain about.
This time limit may be extended depending on circumstances as we treat each complaint individually.
You can also find more information about making a complaint on the complaints page of our website. The team can also connect you with an independent advocate in your area who can support you.
Contact the PALS team
Telephone: 01924 552 150 (between 9am and 4.30pm, Monday – Friday, excluding bank holidays)
Please note: Our telephone line may go to answerphone when the team are busy. Please leave a message with your contact details, and we will call you back as soon as possible.
Email: wyicb.
Write to: West Yorkshire Integrated Care Board Complaints Team, White Rose House West Parade, Wakefield WF1 1LT.