Patient Advice and Liaison Service
Requesting an interpreter
If you need an interpreter, in British Sign Language or another language, please contact our Appointments team by email westherts.
Communications boxes
We have communication boxes that contain a range of useful items including books of symbols, personal listeners, magnifying glasses and white boards for writing messages.
We can use the communication boxes to help to find out your needs. Please ask a member of staff for a communication box if they have not already offered this support to you.
In some instances, our staff will need to wear face masks. If you need to see people’s mouths to be able to understand them, we can use 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.
In some instances, our staff will need to wear face masks. If you need to see people’s mouths to be able to understand them, we can use clear face masks to help with this. Please let staff know if this would assist you.
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 information
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.
Carers
If you have a carer (or an advocate), they can stay with you for the duration of your stay.
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.
Our Caring for Carers service offer confidential help and advice regarding all aspects of caring for someone.
Feedback
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.
We also love to hear about times when you’ve received great care and can pass on thanks and compliments to individuals and teams.
