Patient Advice & Liaison Service (PALS) and Complaints Team

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1 Patient Advice & Liaison Service (PALS) and Complaints Team Worthing and Southlands Hospitals

2 Western Sussex Hospitals NHS Trust which combines St Richard s Hospital in Chichester and Worthing and Southlands Hospitals aim to provide you with the care, treatment and services you want and need. However, sometimes we don t meet the standards you or the hospitals expect. If this happens we hope you will let us know. Paying us a compliment Staff really appreciate it when patients, visitors or relatives thank them for their efforts. We keep a record of all compliments that we receive and with your permission, we share these with other staff in the hospital. If you wish to compliment staff, volunteers or a service the contact details are below. The address is: PALS office Western Sussex Hospitals NHS Trust Worthing Hospital Lyndhurst Road Worthing BN11 2DH Or [email protected] Or you can telephone

3 Dealing with your concerns Concerns are often best dealt with when they arise so we encourage you to first explain your query to a member of staff who knows you and your situation, such as a doctor, nurse or therapist. In many instances it is possible to resolve the problem straight away by talking to the person who has been looking after you. If you are not happy to do this or you have tried and you are not satisfied with the response, then ask to speak to the person in charge of the ward, department or service. If you are unhappy and you do speak to the staff we can reassure you that your care will not be affected in any way. In fact the staff would rather know that you are unhappy so that they can address your concerns and do their best to put things right for the rest of your stay here.

4 Asking the Patient Advice & Liaison Service (PALS) to help PALS is a confidential service offering on the spot advice and support. PALS will help you to resolve the concerns you may have about the care and treatment we provide at an early stage by liaising with the staff involved. PALS can also guide you through the different services available from the NHS. If PALS cannot resolve your problem we can advise you where you might go for help next. You can contact PALS by: Telephone: PALS office, In writing: PALS department, Worthing Hospital [email protected] Via the website: Please feel free to use any of these methods to let us know your view on our services. We are always looking for ways to improve and develop the services we provide.

5 Making a complaint Complaints should be made as soon as possible after the incident, within a year of the event if possible. If you wish to talk about how to make a complaint, please contact our customer relations department on / ext A member of staff from the department will be happy to talk to you and may be able to take action to resolve your concerns. If you prefer you can make your complaint in writing and in which case you should address your letter to: The Chief Executive Western Sussex Hospitals NHS Trust Worthing Hospital Lyndhurst Road Worthing BN11 2DH Or [email protected] The way your complaint is handled will be with your agreement and a member of staff from customer relations will contact you either by telephone or in writing to discuss this. Usually an investigation is carried out with the relevant managers of the areas concerned. Depending on what you have agreed at the start of the complaint, either a written response is sent to you from the Chief Executive or a meeting is arranged so that the findings of the investigation can be discussed with you in person. The complaints procedure is flexible depending on what you are looking for when you complain and how we can best resolve the issues raised.

6 Complaints are treated in confidence and the details are not kept on your medical records and will not affect your ongoing or future treatment in any way. If someone else (e.g. a relative or friend) complains on your behalf, we will need your written permission for that person to act for you unless they have a lasting power of attorney that relates to health. ICAS The Independent Complaints Advocacy Service (ICAS) is an independent advocacy service providing support to people if they have a complaint regarding their NHS treatment. The contact details for ICAS are: ICAS (Independent Complaints Advocacy Service) Central and South Sussex Citizens Advice Bureau Lower Tanbridge Way Horsham West Sussex RH12 1PJ Telephone: Website: [email protected] Health Service Ombudsman If, once the Trust has had the opportunity to address all your concerns, you remain unsatisfied you have the option of asking the Health Service Ombudsman to review your complaint. The Heath Service Ombudsman can be contacted in the following ways: By telephone to the complaints line:

7 By By letter to: The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, Millbank Tower Millbank London SW1P 4QP Website: Whatever might be worrying you, just speak to the staff or contact the PALS office or customer relations department and we will do our best to help. If the PALS staff cannot resolve your concerns we will help you take the issues further. This leaflet is available in another language or a different format if required. Please contact the PALS office for more information.

8 DKR/V1/July 12 Review July 13