Communication Support
Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS)
Telephone: 01923 217 198
Hours: 8am to 4pm (answer phone for messages out-of-hours)
Email: westherts.pals@nhs.net
We are working to improve how we communicate with those who have a sensory need. See our British Sign Language video..
Click this symbol at the top of the screen to open Reachdeck and choose accessibility options.
View our accessibility statement.
Welcome to PALS. We deal with a range of issues to support patients, families and carers. We can offer advice and direct you to information and other services. Our help is free to our service-users.
We are improving the way we communicate with patients, families and carers who have difficulty communicating due to a condition. For example, those who are deaf/hearing impaired, have impaired sight or a neurological condition.
Let us know if you need an interpreter to attend your appointments. We can also arrange for the interpreting and translation of our healthcare documents, such as clinic and discharge letters, into Braille, large print, etc.
If you have any concerns, we can visit patients or relatives on the ward. Just ask one of the ward staff to contact us, or you can contact us yourself.
We understand that some patients do not have a good experience at our Trust, but we are always trying to improve our services and your feedback is important to help us with this.
If a relative, friend or carer is raising a concern on behalf of a patient, their consent will be needed as we have to protect patient confidentiality.
We want to provide the best service, for every patient, every day – please contact us if we can help you.
If you need an interpreter, for example in British Sign Language or another language, please contact the Outpatient Appointments Booking Team.
You can email the team: westherts.appointments@nhs.net - be sure to include the details below.
Webchat
Our webchat function is available Monday to Friday between 8.30 am and 4.45 pm, Click here to get started.
Telephone numbers
For routine appointments: 0300 303 5929
For two-week wait appointments: 0300 303 5923
Details you will need :
- Your NHS number or case number and/or your date of birth
- The appointment date and time (if known)
This information should be on your appointment letter. You can find your NHS number here.
Cancellations
If you are unable to attend an Outpatients appointment, please let us know as soon as you can (at least 48 hours’ notice when possible).
Other types of communication support
Other support is available. We have communication boxes. These contain a range of useful items including books of symbols, personal listeners, magnifying glasses and white boards for writing messages.
If you have suddenly come to A&E, or if regrettably arrangements have been unsuccessful, we can use the communication boxes to help to find out your needs.
Staff are aware so please ask for them if they have not already offered this support to you.
If you need to see people’s mouths to understand, staff can obtain clear face masks to help with this. Please let staff know if this would assist you.
Other communication difficulties
There are many conditions which affect how a person speaks or understands. Please let us know if you need extra time to understand what is said, or to ask questions at your appointment.
You may need additional help to remember when your appointment is and what you have been told. Please tell us how we can help.
Easy Read
Tell us if you need help to understand information. We have Easy Read information that we can give you. You can bring an advocate with you to help you..
If you have a carer (or an advocate) they can stay with you.
Carers are important to us here at West Herts. A carer is anyone who looks after a family member, partner or friend. They may not be able to cope without help because of their illness, frailty, disability, mental health problem or an addiction. It includes both adults and young carers.
Please talk to the hospital staff if you have any questions or anxieties regarding the person you are caring for, or yourself as a carer.
You can contact our ‘Caring for Carers’ service for confidential help and advice regarding all aspects of caring for someone.
Email: westherts.caringforcarers@nhs.net or call 07977 069 888
Hours: Monday to Friday, 8am - 4pm
Andrea Hone - Patient and carer experience nurse/carers lead
Maria Panteli - Carer coordinator
More information for carers can be found here.
Concerns
We can help with any concerns you may have about a service and when things do not go as planned, particularly with your communication needs. Even if you have been discharged from hospital, you can still make the Trust aware of any issues you wish to raise.
Compliments
We’re delighted to receive so many messages from patients telling us about great care they received. If you want to commend or thank our staff, we’ll be please to pass on your comments to the relevant team.
Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS)
Telephone: 01923 217 198
Hours: 8 am to 4 pm (answer phone for messages out-of-hours.)
Email: westherts.pals@nhs.net
Patient Experience
You can also let our Patient Experience team know about the care you received, what was good, what we could have done better.
Please email: westherts.patientexperience@nhs.net
