Evolving Communities set up and facilitated a PALS complaints liaison group in the South West which provided a non-judgemental space for managers to discuss issues and concerns, and to share good practice.

Background to the work

Through running our local Healthwatch services we know that people often find it difficult to raise a concern or make a complaint about a health or care service.  We also know that many service providers are looking at more innovative ways of collecting data from their patients/clients/residents.  It would be good to think that good practice was routinely shared across the sector, but this is not always the case.

What did we do?

We set up and facilitated a complaints liaison group in a county in the South West.  This brought together Customer Care and Patient Advice and Liaison Managers from local hospital and mental health trusts as well as GP out of hours providers, the CCG, as well as representatives from social care and advocacy providers.  This provided a non-judgemental space for Managers to discuss issues and concerns as well as to share good practice.  The meetings ran quarterly.  At the managers request, we also ran two similar groups for PALS staff who all reported that they had found it helpful and supportive.

Bringing together staff from across the health, care and voluntary sector can be challenging but can bring about improvements in practice and service provision. It can also build up support networks.

We can help you to bring together and engage with key staff in your sector and externally.  Contact us for more details.

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