ArticleBMJ open2021
How do National Health Service (NHS) organisations respond to patient concerns? A qualitative interview study of the Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS).
Article in BMJ open, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 10 citations in OpenAlex.
- Patient safety incident reporting systems and reporting practices in African healthcare organisations: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMJ open quality · 2025Pooled it
- Understanding healthcare professionals' responses to patient complaints in secondary and tertiary care in the UK: A systematic review and behavioural analysis using the Theoretical Domains Framework.Health research policy and systems · 2024Pooled it
- What do people do in the aftermath of healthcare-related harm? A qualitative study on experiences and factors influencing decision-making.BMJ quality & safety · 2026Article
- Patient-reported harm from NHS treatment or care, or the lack of access to care: a cross-sectional survey of general population prevalence, impact and responses.BMJ quality & safety · 2025Article
- Embedding into the ways of working in the NHS: A seamless transition and reflective learning as a clinical observer in general internal medicine.Future healthcare journal · 2025Article
- Consultations With Muslims From Minoritised Ethnic Communities Living in Deprived Areas: Identifying Inequities in Mental Health Care and Support.Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy · 2024Article
- Sources of diagnostic delay for people with Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis: Qualitative research study.PloS one · 2024Article
- Patient Experience of Care in an Interprofessional Field Hospital During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Study.Journal of primary care & community healthArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesTo describe the current work of the Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) and assess the service's potential to resolve concerns and contribute to organisational learning.
designA qualitative study using semistructured interviews.
settingFour mental health trusts and four acute trusts in the English National Health Service, a total of eight PALS across different trusts.
participantsTwenty-four participants comprising of PALS staff and clinicians working with PALS teams.
methodsSemistructured interviews were undertaken with participants using video conferencing software. The framework method was used for the analysis of the large qualitative dataset, which is a conventional method of analysis, similar to thematic or qualitative content analysis.
resultsPALS teams fulfil their core responsibilities by acting as point of contact for patients, providing information and resolving a variety of recurrent problems, including PALS staff communication, staff attitudes and waiting times. The remit and responsibilities of each PALS has often broadened over time. Barriers to resolving concerns included a lack of awareness of PALS, limited to no policies informing how staff resolve concerns, an emphasis on complaints and the attitude of clinical staff. Senior management had widely differing views on how the PALS should operate and the management of complaints is a much higher priority. Few PALS teams carried out any analysis of the data or shared data within their organisations.
conclusionsPALS teams fulfil their core responsibilities by acting as point of contact for patients, providing information and resolving concerns. PALS staff also act as navigators of services, mediators between families and staff and, occasionally, patient advocates in supporting them to raise concerns. PALS has the potential to reduce complaints, increase patient satisfaction and provide rapid organisational feedback. Achieving this potential will require more awareness and support within organisations together with updated national policy guidance.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.