Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS)
Please note the PALS team is experiencing high demands, which may cause delays in replying to queries. Please bear with us; we will respond to you as quickly as we can.
Our A&Es are very busy. While staff are doing their best to answer the phones, we encourage families to contact their loved one via their mobile phone for updates wherever possible.
The Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) is here to provide help, information and non medical advice about your care and treatment. We can help you with queries, sending compliments or making a formal complaint.
The quickest and easiest way to deal with queries in the first instance is to talk to a member of staff. If you are staying in the hospital, ask to speak to the Ward Manager or the Matron. If you are an Outpatient, ask at reception and they can find the right person for you to speak to.
They will be able to listen to your query and will try to help to resolve your issue.
If talking hasn’t resolved the issue, then contact the Patient Advice & Liaison Service. We can:
Give you information about our hospital services and the choices available to you and your family, visitors and carers at each of our hospitals
Listen to your comments, compliments or concerns about the services provided in our hospital
Help you to resolve, as quickly as possible, any problems or issues that you have about our hospital services
Give you information about the formal complaints process and independent advocacy services.
Office opening hours:
Kent and Canterbury Hospital - Trust Offices:
Monday to Friday 9.30am to 16.00pm
William Harvey Hospital, Ashford:
Monday to Friday 9.30am to 16.00pm
QEQM Hospital, Margate:
Monday to Friday 9.30am to 16.00pm
Useful Links and Enquiry Forms
Raise a query, question or concern about your or someone else's care
Report any lost items at our hospital sites
Pass on your positive comments, or compliments
Raise a complaint
Go to our policies page to download our PALS policy
How to submit a request to access your Health Records
Contact us
We’re open Monday to Friday (apart from Bank holidays) from 9am to 4pm.
Phone us on 01227 783145
You may get an answering machine if the team is busy, or if the office is closed. Please leave a message and telephone number and we'll return your call as soon as possible, ideally within three working days.
Email us at ekh-tr.pals@nhs.net
If you do not receive a response please don’t hesitate to phone. Because of the higher security applied to emails sent to NHS email addresses, we know that some emails get blocked by our server. Unfortunately we cannot prevent this, so get in touch if you think this may have happened to your email.
We welcome and value your comments, suggestions and concerns, as they help us continuously improve the quality of services we provide and the overall experience of you; our patients.
You should be treated with courtesy and respect at all times by NHS staff and making a comment or complaint about NHS services will not prejudice the care that you or your relatives are given.