Lincolnshire PALS

1
Lincolnshire PALS
A Collaborative Model Ann Millar PALS
Coordinator
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Lincolnshire PALS

• Lincolnshire demographics
• Large rural county 2350 sq. miles
• Population growing, 614,00, older than average
  for England
• Issues access to services, isolation, transport
• NHS employs around 13,000 staff
• 9 hospital sites and 110 GP Surgeries
• 2001/02 NHS budget for Lincs. Around 500 million

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Lincolnshire PALS

• Health Community comprises SIX Trusts
• United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust
• Lincolnshire Ambulance and Health Transport NHS
  Trust
• Lincolnshire NHS Partnership Trust
• East Lincolnshire Primary Care Trust
• Lincolnshire South West Primary Care Trust
• West Lincolnshire Primary Care Trust

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Lincolnshire PALS

• Lincolnshire Collaborative Model works across the
  whole health community
• Model based on developing customer care culture
  in each organisation
• Frontline staff in each NHS Trust deliver a PALS
  service as part of their normal working role
• Specialist element is small call centre, 2
  PALS Advisors Coordinator, funded
  collaboratively from central allocation

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Lincolnshire PALS

• Patients, public staff can contact call centre
  by telephone (local call rate), letter, email or
  fax
• Face to face meetings with Trust staff can be
  arranged at a venue local to the contact
• Collaborative model makes access to NHS in
  Lincolnshire easy one contact point for six
  stakeholder organisations, removes need for
  patients public to consider organisational or
  geographical boundaries
• Lincolnshire PALS has consistently identifiable
  image on posters, leaflets,display boards, all
  stationery

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Lincolnshire PALS

• March 02 - Intensive induction programme into
  health community in Lincolnshire for call centre
  staff
• April 02 - service went live- promotional
  launch events
• April May 02 - PALS Customer Care training
  events, places available to Trust GP practice
  staff
• Posters leaflets to every health centre, GP
  practice, pharmacy, library, in/out patient
  facility or service.
• Specific leaflet sent to every member of staff
  (13,000 plus) in Lincolnshire NHS (and some
  Social Services)

7
Lincolnshire PALS

• First ten months 663 contacts to the call
  centre 94 by 0845 local call rate phone
  number
• contacts generated 3017 actions by PALS
  Advisors
• Each contact generated on average 5 actions
• The least number of actions per contact was 1
• The most number of actions per contact was 38
• 13 of contacts contain more than one issue,
  problem, request for information etc.

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Lincolnshire PALS

• PALS Advisors ask has there been an opportunity
  to resolve issue at local level?
• Issue may be complex, concern more than one
  Trust, caller may not feel comfortable contacting
  staff directly
• PALS Advisors agree course of action and keep
  caller informed of progress until agreed outcome
  is achieved.
• Our customer care is to check with caller that
  issue has been resolved, information useful etc.

9
Lincolnshire PALS

• Service satisfaction questionnaires sent when
  contact has been closed
• Appropriate referral protocols in place with NHS
  Direct, Mental Health Independent Advocacy,
  Lincolnshire Health Service Complaints Agency
• Networks established with Support/Voluntary
  Agencies
• e.g. Age Concern, Citizens Advice Bureau,
  Share the Care Carer Forum, Older Peoples Forums,
  Service Users Carers Forum (Mental Health) etc
• Links set up with accredited information source
• (Lincolnshire Resource Information
  Service)

10
Lincolnshire PALS

• Information on each contact to call centre is
  held on database categorised by -
• - Trust (or other organisation) to which the
  issue belongs
• - Service Area or Department to which the
  issue belongs
• - What the issue was about
• Contacts reviewed on a weekly basis, supports
  consistent approach to categorisation
• Regular meetings to review contacts with each
  Trusts designated PALS lead has the PALS
  intervention been effective, efficient and met
  the needs of the caller?

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Lincolnshire PALS

• Processes established to feed information back to
  organisation to allow them to learn from
  Patients experience and to initiate change
• Feedback route choice of Trust e.g.
• - Clinical Governance Committee
• - Complaints Adverse Incidents Group
• Anonymised reports provided to each Trust Board
  quarterly
• PALS Coordinator has direct access to each
  Trusts Chief Executive

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Lincolnshire PALS

• Summary
• Front line staff supported by call centre working
  collaboratively across health community in
  Lincolnshire
• Lincolnshire PALS member of county-wide groups
  e.g. Public Involvement Network, Clinical
  Governance, Information Governance
• Lincolnshire PALS actively engaging with the
  three pilot Patients Forums in Lincolnshire
• Call Centre works towards resolving Patients
  issues or concerns in the same way as any other
  PALS Service