Hospital care: your rights and how to get help
The Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) is there to help you if you have a question about, or on behalf of, a patient’s care. The team can help with a wide range of issues or direct you to another service if that's more appropriate
You can contact them if you have any questions, need help understanding something, or if something has not gone as expected during your care. They can listen to your concerns, explain what options are available, and help you resolve issues informally where possible.
How can PALS help?
- They will listen to patients' concerns, queries, and suggestions
- Advise and support patients, their families, and their carers
- Help resolve problems quickly on your behalf by liaising with the relevant teams
- Pass on your comments and suggestions on improving our hospital services to the relevant management.
- If they are unable to resolve your concerns they can provide you with information about the Trusts formal complaints process and should you require assistance in making a complaint, they can provide details of the Sheffield Advocacy Hub
What PALS cannot do
- Book or change appointments
- Offer a counselling service
- Give you detailed medical information or a medical diagnosis
- Change or affect a medical decision that has been made
- Provide copies of medical records
- Deal with requests for work experience or volunteer opportunities, references, invoices, job applications and promotional and advertising materials. These requests will not receive a response
If you have concerns or questions about another healthcare provider or your GP, or if you have any questions about accessing medical records, appointments, finding out if a patient is admitted, HR issues or work experience please refer to the Sheffield Teaching Hospitals helpful contacts list.
If your situation is urgent, you should contact NHS 111, your GP, or 999 in an emergency.
How to contact the Sheffield Teaching Hospital's PALS Team
By phone: 0114 271 2400 (excluding Bank Holidays)
- Open 10am to 12 noon
- Closed for lunch from 12 to 1pm
- Open from 1pm to 3pm
By email: sth.pals@nhs.net
By writing: PALS Office, B Floor, Royal Hallamshire Hospital, Glossop Road, Sheffield S10 2JF
In person: You can arrange an appointment or drop into the department at any time between office opening hours. To arrange an appointment, please telephone or email the team.
• The Royal Hallamshire Hospital, B Floor, Glossop Road, Sheffield S10 2JF, or
• The Northern General Hospital, Huntsman Reception, C Floor, Barnsley Road, Sheffield S5 7AT
Please note, if you do not make an appointment and a PALS Officer is not available when you arrive, you will be required to arrange an appointment either later the same day or an alternative day that suits your availability.
When contacting the PALS Team please include the following details:
- The Patient’s name and address
- The Patient’s date of birth and hospital number, if known
- The ward the patient is on if they are still in hospital
- The Complainant’s and/or the Patient's phone number
- The Complainant’s name and relationship to the Patient
Please note if you are contacting PALS on behalf of someone else, you will need consent from that person to investigate your enquiry.
To find out more about the PALS team please visit the Sheffield Teaching Hospitals Website.
Your rights when using hospital services
When you use NHS services, you have clear rights set out in the NHS Constitution.
Here are the main ones to know:
Access to services
- You have the right to NHS care that is free at the point of use (with some exceptions like prescriptions or dental care).
- You should not be treated unfairly because of who you are.
Quality and safety
- You have the right to safe, high-quality care from trained professionals.
- You should be treated with dignity and respect at all times.
Being involved in your care
- You have the right to be involved in decisions about your treatment.
- You should be given clear information to help you make choices.
- You can accept or refuse treatment.
Privacy and confidentiality
- Your personal and medical information should be kept private.
Complaints and feedback
- You have the right to complain if something goes wrong.
- The NHS must look into your complaint and respond.
If you would like to make a hospital complaint, you can find out more information on Sheffield Teaching Hospitals website or contact us.
