Safeguarding

Safeguarding Patients 111
No* Para Inquiry recommendation Government response
Para
Response
4 2.36 We therefore recommend that the
Modernisation Agency develop a
model of best practice for access to
PALS especially in primary care] and,
if appropriate for them so to do, the
patients’ forums could monitor the
effectiveness of service provision
against this model. The
implementation of this model and
associated performance measures
should be a formal component of
CHAI’s reviews of PCTs.
5 2.39 We recommend that the same training
for ICAS staff in handling concerns
and complaints of an intimate and
sensitive nature as that we have
recommended for PALS staff should
be provided, and that this should form
part of the service specification for
ICAS. We also believe that satisfaction
surveys should be built into the work of
ICAS on completion of their work with
each complaint so that their
performance can be routinely
monitored and a cycle of continuous
improvement be established.
The Government agrees the
importance of ensuring that patients
who wish to raise concerns about
the quality of care they have
received from the NHS are aware
of the PALS services and can
readily access them. The
Department of Health has drawn up
national standards for the work of
PALS and SHAs are responsible for
monitoring the quality of the
services offered against these
standards. In addition, the
Department has commissioned an
independent evaluation of the
impact of PALS, conducted by the
University of West England, which
is due to be completed later this
year. The role of PALS within future
arrangements for handling
complaints, in both health and
social care, will be considered in
the consultation described in
chapter 5 of this response.
6.7–9 See above on recommendation 3.
The supply of this type of training
has been included in the ICAS
service specification from April
2006 onwards. The Department
routinely works with all ICAS
providers to increase the amount of
feedback gathered from clients and
reviews the way this information is
used to develop the service.