Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS)
The Trust's patient advice and liaison service offers confidential advice and support to help you with any concerns you may have about your care.
Our aim is to try and resolve any concerns as quickly as possible. If necessary we can tell patients and families about local advocacy services for additional support.
How can PALS help?
- Answer questions about your care while you are in hospital
- Advise and support you and your family. Being unwell is an anxious time and you may want someone else to liaise on your behalf
- Guide you, your relatives and friends through the different services available at the Trust.
- Respond to any concerns you may have about your care
- Listen to your suggestions for improving our services
How to make a complaint
Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust is committed to ensuring that we are providing high quality care and treatment for our patients.
If we cannot resolve your concern to your satisfaction, we will advise you how to take the matter forward using the formal complaints procedure.
Your complaints rights
If you are unhappy with the way you have been treated by the NHS you have the right to make a complaint.
Who can complain?
Anyone can make a complaint. You can also complain on behalf of someone else if you can show you have their consent or legal authority, such as power of attorney.
What is the time limit for making a complaint?
You should raise your complaint at your earliest convenience, and no later than 12 months from the date of an incident or of when you become aware of the issue. This timescale may be extended in exceptional cases.
Listening to you to help us learn and improve
We welcome all feedback, both positive and negative, and view it as an opportunity to learn and improve our services.
The NHS complaints procedure
The NHS complaints procedure has two stages. The first stage is called 'local resolution' and most concerns are resolved at this stage. You can raise your concern by either contacting the manager of the service you wish to make a complaint about or the complaints team of the organisation which manages the service.
If your concern cannot be resolved informally, you will receive a written acknowledgement of your formal complaint within three working days and your issues will be fully investigated under the Trust’s Formal Complaints Process.
We are always happy to discuss your concerns after you have received your response; it is important to us that you feel we have done all we can to resolve the concern and respond to you.
Stage two:
If you are still unhappy after you have received the Trust’s response to your complaint, you can ask the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) to review your complaint. The PHSO’s number is 0345 015 4033 or you can get further information and complete an online form on their website, www.ombudsman.org.uk.
Further information on the NHS complaints procedure is available at www.nhs.uk or www.ombudsman.org.uk .
You may also wish to contact the NHS Complaints Advocacy Service. They offer free and confidential help and support to those who had problems with the NHS. Further details of their services can be obtained by telephoning 0300 330 5454 or by visiting www.nhscomplaintsadvocacy.org.