Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS)
When you need advice, have concerns, or don't know where to turn
As a patient, relative or carer sometimes you may need on-the-spot help, advice and support. This is where the Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) may be able to help.
How PALS can help
Our aims are to:
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advise and support patients, their families and carers
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provide information on NHS services
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listen to your concerns, suggestions or queries
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help sort out problems quickly on your behalf
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improve the service to NHS patients
The service is completely confidential, and PALS acts independently when handling patient and family concerns, liaising with staff, managers, and, where appropriate, relevant organisations, to negotiate immediate or prompt solutions. If necessary, we can also refer patients and their families to specific local or national support agencies.
When we are available
Our opening hours are: 9.00am – 4.30pm, Mondays to Fridays, not including public holidays.
The PALS officer is not always in the office, or may be already helping with another patient, so there is an answerphone on the phone line. Our standard is to reply to all messages left on the answerphone within one working day, although most of the time we will reply much sooner than that, so please do leave a message.
To contact the PALS team:
Telephone: 01604 545784 (9.00am – 4.30pm weekdays; answerphone at other times)
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E-mail: PALS@ngh.nhs.uk
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Write to us at: Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust, Cliftonville, Northampton NN1 5BD
or ask any member of staff to contact us on your behalf.
The Hospital Bereavement Service
Support and Assistance
The PALS Bereavement Service provides sympathetic information, advice and support to bereaved relatives and carers by helping them through the practical arrangements that follow the death of an adult patient at the hospital.
The team can help you deal with issues such as:
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Registering the Death
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Funeral Director
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The Coroner and Coroner’s Office
We are located in The Evelyn Centre (Area R) at Northampton General Hospital and can be contacted Monday to Friday from 8.30am to 4.30pm on the numbers shown below. An answer phone service is available out of hours and we will respond to messages as soon as we can.
Bereavement Service 01604 523489 or 523454
For more information on the services we can provide, see 'What Happens Now?'| - our guide to making arrangements following a death.