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HOME >> Mr. Lansley-Points to Consider

PALS Chairman Replies to PALS Worker


Dear Mr Larkham, Chairman of PALS,and for the attention of David Nicholson Head of the NHS
I am a member of your network !!
It works in the same way as all other small empires it's main preoccupation is in 
securing its own future. 
You wrote about how you 'share my
frustrations" and yet I have never had a strong leadership call to protest
about the despicably low standardsof complaints handling in the NHS, 
the failure to be open with people
(despite the Being Open policy) the vastly increased work loads since the
new complaints regs came into force etc etc.
People have said that they have more work now but only as a means of feeling
hard done by themselves not as a serious concern that the public aren't
getting a decent standard of service. Like so many self interest groups they
want to earn more and go to more meetings, conferences, focus groups, I have
not seen PALS network urging us to be vigilant and offering to support us s
individuals when we try to take a stand at our places of work.
As I recall response rates to your surveys were rather low.
Meetings, conferences but what actual audit of services, what real voice of
protest?
I am on the NHS Reform site and so it a former PCT chairman will you join us
then to highlight the shoddiness of the system, the failure to deal with
things properly, will you ask you network members to submit their concerns
to be put on the site?
A PALS colleague of mine went to the Exeter meeting with the Dept.of Health
in May and she said 'the chap from DoH was rolling his eyes when people
asked questions because he was so frustrated that having told us to get on
and resolve issues and support people etc. etc. once workers within Trusts
got back to their offices they created for themselves long winded,
bureaucratic, defensive ways of working which defeated the very purpose of
the new regs.
It is the culture within the NHS that needs changing no money is needed to
do that.
You have the opportunity now to join a reform group that has already exposed
many anomalies in the processes and you have the opportunity to give our
details to your members so they can point the many dis satisfied clients
they meet to our site and our protest. Will you at least do that much so
that people who are being crushed by the system can get some proper support
from outside the NHS?
PALS network is as timid and tame as PALS itself, really there in name only.
Unless you are prepared to campaign for PALS to be independently funded and
free of the Trusts being able to 'call the shots" all the time, then you
will never be more than an information service and most people have the
Internet for that. Unless you are prepared to campaign for a proper
qualification at degree level some investigative powers then you may as well
shut up shop and use your free time more wisely.
Unless you are prepared to do some naming and shaming of Trusts where
injustices occur then what is PALS or its network for.
PALS is just going through the motions and while I think an in house ironing
out of glitches in the system is helpful it is not worth public funds spent
on a network..if it grew into a real movement for change and truth and
justice then I think the public would be happy to support it financially.
This government does seem minded towards some change – join our group and
make change happen.
THE NHS REFORM GROUP on behalf of a PALS worker with a conscience
..................................................
John Larkham - Chairman of PALS replies to the NHS Reform Group
Dear NHS Reform Group
The email below was forwarded to me by one of the original recipients. Unfortunately, whilst it was ostensibly addressed to me, it was in fact sent to a lot of other people but not me. I therefore feel it important to include the other recipients in this reply.
The National PALS Network trustees share many of the frustrations expressed by your anonymous correspondent, however, I feel I can speak for the board members in expressing bemusement at this email. It is not quite clear to me what sentiments are being directed at or expressed about the NPN towards the end of the email.
There is much information about the aims and workings of the Network on the website, PALS Online, which includes a 'Contact us" page stating:
'On this site you can find out more about the aims of the Network and its board of trustees, which is made up of PALS workers who have volunteered to take on a governance role for the Network and receive no remuneration for doing so.

At present, the National PALS Network has no staff, office base or dedicated phone lines and is reliant on the voluntary activities of its trustees and supporters.'

Despite the paucity of our resources, we do strive to achieve our stated aims but we are limited by an income last financial year, for example, of £1580, see Charity Commission website or our annual report for 2008/09.

In order to carry out activities we are entirely reliant on voluntary labour. Like my fellow trustees, I give freely of my time at week-ends and evenings to support the organisation and have taken 7 days annual leave this year to attend board and other meetings on its behalf. This included annual leave to speak at two conferences from which the (modest) fees were donated to the Network.

Over the last four years, we have spent some of our vountary labour in trying to secure funding, develop a business plan, and so on, but this is time consuming, specialist work which so far has been largely fruitless other than in securing DH funding to pay the website software contractors that support and develop the website.
If your correspondent has an ongoing interest in PALS and wishes to join the Network and contribute constructively to its activities and development, they will be very welcome to join us and put themselves forward to become a trustee at this year's AGM. To join the Network today and add new energy and enthusiasm to our activities, they can follow this link to a page on the website.

Best wishes

John Larkham
Chair, National PALS Network
PALS Online - www.pals.nhs.uk - the website of the NPN.
-Original Message-
From: info@nhsreformgroup.com [mailto:info@nhsreformgroup.com]
Sent: 29 September 2010 12:00
To: Subject: PALS talks PALS - Is this Advisory Service Helpful?

For the Attention of Mr. John Larkham, PALS Chair and the Mid Staffs
Public Inquiry Team as well as Mr. Lansley, the Patients Association and other associated NHS organisations.

Dear PALS colleagues,

I shall be leaving my PALS co ordination post shortly.

I enjoyed the PALS role and believe that the public benefit from
having someone inside the NHS who can negotiate the system for them
and provide information and support, when for obvious reasons they are
finding it hard to cope.

When the new complaint regulations came in last year I found myself
swamped by pointless administrative tasks relating to complaint
processing and the rather strange requirement, that I deal with things
within 24 hours as PALS issues or they automatically became
complaints, made working life near impossible.

Managers were putting trivial things through the complaints process
clogging it up for the more serious issues which then were delayed
causing additional stress and distress to patients who had suffered
some really horrible things. To find that issues of patient care
/clinical care and treatment etc were now being processed in the same
way as 'complaints" about car parking costs or the lack of a smoking
shelter concerned me greatly.

I also found that managers had begun to ration the time I could spend
with clients I have been told that 20 minutes is enough and that if
people were taking too long on the phone to 'hang up on them'.

I thought that my role was to highlight areas for service improvement
but found that where I work the disability discrimination act was all
but unheard of with clients who have mental health problems treated as
rather a waste of time. Sometimes managers called the police to angry
clients which I thought was very over the top because I have never met
anyone who did not calm down when treated with understanding and
respect.

I know from having spoken to a few of you out there that other people
have felt the strain of the complaints system all but absorbing PALS.
I have asked my managers dozens of times if I am doing complaints work
who is doing PALS they rather glibly tell me it is all the same thing
and we can all " just muck in and enjoy it'. We have had several re
deployed people sent to help us and bless them they have tried but is
PALS really something that anyone passing through can just have a go
at??

I think we need a foundation degree at least for PALS /Information
centre workers none of this NVQ in customer relations because quite
frankly we need more investigative skills than we have and far more
clout. We are dealing with distraught human beings not broken washing
machines and the 'customer relations" title does not speak to me of
the unique duty of care that medical staff have to their patients, it
is trivialising and demeaning.

I felt embarrassed some of the time at work, I knew that clients were
being fobbed off because I was aware that other people had made the
same or similar complaints and I also understand only too well the
disproportionate power ratios between the consultants and managers and
the patients/ clients who are so often out of their depth.

One client told me that she had 'become inappropriately dependant upon
her PALS worker because the managers dealing with her complaint
treated her with such disregard" she felt that PALS always offered her
some courtesy and support.

There is major change afoot in the NHS the Health-Watch service will
have new powers to assist patients with complaints and PALS ? Where
exactly will PALS be?

As an in house, quick fix, trouble shooting agency PALS is fine but
with public confidence in the NHS at perhaps an all time low, the Mid
Staffs Public Inquiry due next month and scandal after scandal about
poor care being revealed in every newspaper what is the future for
PALS?

The Being Open policy was based on the premise that 850.000 patients
were involved in harm or near miss incidents every year and that in
Being Open some closure could be obtained for them and future
incidents be reduced for patient safety. I have to say that I have not
seen much 'Being Open" where I work. If there is any information
patient care related or just the basics, we make people jump through
hoops to get it.

If you experience is in any way similar to mine then please write to
PALS network.

The Patient's Association knows the extent of the problems out there
and says that it cannot act in individual cases, the Patient's
Champions are - well who are they? I had to track down the one at our
Trust.

There is too much lip service paid to proper, rigorous complaints
investigations and the government is aware and will be taking some
remedial actions.

The time for PALS staff and the PALS network to step and take action
is now.

People trust us, they rely on us for good advice they depend on us for
support at very traumatic times are we going to allow ourselves to
become tainted with the shabby experiences that so many people find in
the complaints system?

Please support this cause. Register with the Patient's Association and
get their free Friday e mail - check out groups like Cure the NHS and
NHS Reform and see what happens to people as they go through an often
unforgiving system.

I think many of you know as I do that the complaints handling is poor
and often people are disappointed but give up or too scared to even
begin the process.

The PALS network could be advising and assisting the government now,
the system will be changing soon. Let us help to make the changes
worthwhile. Let us stand up for Being Open with people.

Truth is the most rationed commodity in the NHS we cannot let that
continue.

THE NHS REFORM GROUP on behalf of a PALS employee.

..................................

PALS network values BUT is these really happening? NHS Reform Group
members tell us otherwise!

We are an autonomous body working to improve the NHS and the patient's
and carer's experience.
We strive to be open, accessible and accountable to our members and
the public.
We seek to enable all our members to be involved in the democratic
development of the Network.
We seek to support PALS workers in developing effective communication
and sharing of good practice.