Patient advice and liaison service officer Job Information | National Careers Service

Job profiles

Patient advice and liaison service officer

Hours

30-40 per week
Starting salary

£18,200 + per year

If you are a good listener and you can handle emotional situations with sensitivity, this job could suit you well.

The Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) offers support, advice and information on NHS services to patients, their carers, the general public and hospital staff.

In this job you will need to show empathy and understanding with distressed patients and bereaved relatives. You will need to be non-judgemental. You will also need to be resilient.

There aren't any specific entry requirements to get into this job but some employers may ask for GCSE passes. A background in areas like nursing, customer care or advice work may help you. It's common to start off as a volunteer first before getting paid work.

The work

As a PALS officer, your duties could range from helping distressed patients understand the NHS complaints procedure to advising bereaved relatives on how to access support services. Your work could also include:

giving advice with a view to resolving concerns about services or care
liaising with staff, managers and support groups to find solutions to problems
informing patients and the public about how they can get more involved in their own healthcare and with local NHS services
listening to patients' concerns, suggestions and experiences and raising these with people who design and manage services
providing information about how to get independent help with a complaint
supervising and co-ordinating PALS volunteers.

As a senior PALS officer you could also manage the day-to-day running of the PALS service.

Hours

You could be based in a hospital or the community (as part of a local Primary Care Trust (PCT)). Your working day could involve travelling across different sites within the NHS Trust.

You would normally cover 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday. However, you may need to work outside of these hours to meet the demands of the job.

In this job, you would be dealing with a variety of emotional situations.

Income

PALS officers can earn between £18,200 and £22,000 a year
Specialists, for example in bereavement, may earn up to around £27,500
Managers can earn around £34,200.

Figures are intended as a guideline only.

Entry requirements

For most PALS officer jobs, you will need:

previous experience in a customer care, mediation, patient or service user focused role (including dealing with complaints)
a good general standard of education – (this can vary between NHS Trusts) for some this will mean GCSEs (grades A-C) in English and maths, with others you may need a level 3 qualification such as a relevant BTEC National Diploma or NVQ Level 3.

It could be an advantage to have experience of working with the deaf community (using British Sign Language), and with vulnerable groups such as children or mental health service users. It would also be useful to have experience in:

the health, social care or voluntary sector
advice, counselling or advocacy work.

A background in, for example, nursing could also be a helpful preparation for this work.

A common entry route is through volunteering, particularly within the NHS. Some PALS services are staffed by a mixture of paid staff and volunteers. Contact the voluntary services coordinator or manager at your local NHS Trust for further advice.

NHS Choices (for a list of local NHS Trusts)

You may be able to start as a PALS secretary or administrator and work your way up to PALS officer.

Training and development

Your training would usually involve learning on the job alongside experienced staff. This would often include developing a good working knowledge of your NHS Trust and local support services, as well as specific complaints procedures, data protection and confidentiality issues.

You may also have the opportunity to take short courses run through your employer or external organisations in areas such as equality and diversity, advanced communication skills, managing difficult situations, and bereavement.

Skills and knowledge

To be a PALS officer you should have:

excellent listening and communication skills
the ability to deal with complex and sensitive situations
empathy and the ability to work closely with distressed patients and bereaved relatives
a non-judgemental approach
sensitivity and resilience
the ability to cope with pressure and highly emotional situations
the ability to prioritise and organise a varied workload
mediation skills
the ability to train others
an understanding of the issues surrounding confidentiality
team working skills and the ability to work on your own initiative
good IT and keyboard skills.

More information

People 1st (Opens new window)
2nd Floor
Armstrong House
38 Market Square
Uxbridge
Middlesex
UB8 1LH
Tel: 01895 817 000
www.uksp.co.uk/ (careers information)
www.people1st.co.uk

NHS Careers (Opens new window)
PO Box 2311
Bristol
BS2 2ZX
Tel: 0345 60 60 655
www.nhscareers.nhs.uk

Health Learning and Skills Advice Line (Opens new window)
Tel: 08000 150850

Opportunities

You will find most job opportunities within hospitals, ambulance services and in the community with local NHS Primary Care Trusts.

With experience, you could progress to senior PALS officer or PALS service manager (for this, you may need a degree in a subject related to the health, education or social care sectors and possibly a relevant postgraduate diploma).

Alternatively, you could move into other healthcare management jobs in hospitals, health authorities and NHS Trusts.

Jobs may be advertised through the local and national press, Jobcentre Plus offices, health service journals, the NHS Jobs website and on Directgov (Jobseekers page).

NHS Jobs
Directgov (Jobseekers page)

Job profiles are based on the latest information supplied to us by industry bodies, such as Sector Skills Councils. Please be aware that with the introduction of the Qualifications and Credit Framework there has been, and will continue to be, changes to vocational qualifications. For more information, please check with industry bodies directly.

We do not accept responsibility for the content of external sites.

Related industry information

Industry summary

The health sector is represented by Skills for Health Sector Skills Council, which comprises three sub‐sectors:

National Health Service (NHS)
Independent Healthcare Sector (such as private and charitable healthcare providers)
Third Sector (healthcare) (such as small local community and voluntary groups, registered charities, foundations, trusts, social enterprises and co‐operatives)

The health sector is made up of hospitals, doctors’ surgeries, dental practices, the ambulance service, nursing homes, residential care homes, complementary medicine and a huge range of other health related activities, from sight tests in opticians to research in medical laboratories. Most people in the health sector work in the publicly funded National Health Service (NHS), which includes:

primary care (organisations which the public goes to first) – Doctors/General Practitioners (GPs), NHS Walk in Centres, NHS Direct, Out of Hours Emergency Care
secondary care (organisations which the public are referred onto) – Ambulance Trusts, NHS Trusts/hospitals, NHS Foundation Trusts/hospitals, Mental Health Trusts, Care Trusts (provide joint health and social care activities)

NHS policy in England is directed from the centre by the Department of Health. Local organisations, known as Primary Care Trusts (PCTs), are in charge of providing and commissioning services, controlling the majority of the budget. PCTs are overseen by 10 regional organisations called Strategic Health Authorities (SHAs).

The independent sector includes companies and charities that offer hospital and specialist services usually after referral from a doctor. Operations and other work are carried out in private hospitals, independent treatment centres, mental health units and hospices.

Key facts:

The health sector is the largest employer in the UK, representing 5.5% of the working age population of the UK and 7.3% of the working age population that are currently in employment.
It is estimated that the sector employs over 2 million people, including:
- over 1.5 million people in the NHS (72%)
- over 0.5 million people in the Independent Healthcare sector (26%)
- almost 40,000 in the voluntary sector (2%)
56% of the workforce has a higher education qualification (or equivalent).
The age profile for the sector shows an older than average workforce, which is due in part to the fact that it takes some professions a long time to train and can mean that people enter the sector later.

There is a varied list of jobs in the sector ranging from a diverse number of clinical roles, to support and infrastructure staff, for instance: Allied Health Professionals (AHPs); Ambulance Staff; Dental Staff; Doctors/Medical staff; Nursing staff; Midwifery Staff; Healthcare Scientists; Health Informatics Staff; Management; Wider Healthcare Team; Complementary Therapists.

National and regional data

High proportions of the health sector workforce are located in:

London
South East
North West

East Midlands

The health sector employs 131,515 people, which accounts for 7% of all employment in the region.
The East Midlands employs 8% of the total health sector workforce for England.
The private sector accounts for 29% of all employment across the sector or 41,200 employees.
Between 2007 and 2017, the total requirement for workforce will be approximately 133,000 people. This is the total of the predicted expansion plus replacement demand.

East of England

The health sector employs 164,720 people, which accounts for 7% of all employment in the region.
The East of England employs 9.8 % of the total health sector workforce for England.
The private sector accounts for 30% of all employment across the sector or 52,300 employees.
Vacancies in the health and social work sector account for 14% of all industry vacancies.
Between 2007 and 2017, the total requirement for workforce will be approximately 103,000 people. This is the total of the predicted expansion plus replacement demand.

London

The health sector employs over 249,524 people, which accounts for 6% of all the employment in the region.
London employs 15% of the total health sector workforce for England.
The private sector accounts for 33% of all employment across the sector or 78,500 employees.
Vacancies in health and social work account for 12% of all industry vacancies.
Between 2007 and 2017, the total requirement for workforce will be approximately 146,000 people. This is the total of the predicted expansion plus replacement demand.

North East

The health sector employs 89,201 people, which accounts for 8.7% of all employment in the region.
The North East employs 5.3 % of the total health sector workforce for England.
The private sector accounts for 25% of all employment across the sector or 23,800 employees.
Vacancies in the health and social work sector account for 12% of all industry vacancies.
Between 2007 and 2017, the total requirement for workforce will be almost 46,000 people. This is the total of the predicted expansion plus replacement demand.

North West

The health sector employs 251,960 people, which accounts for 8% of all employment in the region.
The North West employs 15% of the total health sector workforce for England.
The private sector accounts for 23.5% of all employment across the sector or 59,200 employees.
Vacancies in the health and social work account for 11% of all industry vacancies.
Between 2007 and 2017, the total requirement for workforce will be approximately 133,000 people. This is the total of the predicted expansion plus replacement demand.

South East

The health sector employs 264,071 people, which accounts for 7.1% of all employment in the region.
The South East employs 15.7% of the total health sector workforce for England.
The private sector accounts for 23.5% of all employment across the sector or 59,200 employees.
Vacancies in the health and social work sector account for 12% of all Industry vacancies.
Between 2007 and 2017, the total requirement for workforce will be approximately 164,000 people. This is the total of the predicted expansion plus replacement demand.

South West

The health sector employs 182,187 people, which accounts for 8.2% of all employment in the region.
The South West employs 10.8 % of the total health sector workforce for England.
The private sector accounts for 30% of all employment across the sector or 60,700 employees.
Vacancies in the health and social work sector account for 12% of all Industry vacancies.
Between 2007 and 2017, the total requirement for workforce will be approximately 105,000 people. This is the total of the predicted expansion plus replacement demand.

West Midlands

The health sector employs 168,746 people, which accounts for 7.2% of all employment in the region.
The West Midlands employs 10% of the total health sector workforce for England.
The private sector accounts for 25% of all employment across the sector or 43,000 employees.
Vacancies in the health and social work sector account for 9% of all industry vacancies.
Between 2007 and 2017, the total requirement for workforce will be approximately 108,000 people. This is the total of the predicted expansion plus replacement demand.

Yorkshire and the Humber

The health sector employs 182,848 people, which accounts for 8.2% of all employment in the region.
Yorkshire and the Humber employ 10.9 % of the total health sector workforce for England.
The private sector accounts for 24% of the total health care workforce or 42,000 employees.
Vacancies in health and social work account for 11% of all industry vacancies.
Between 2007 and 2017, the total requirement for workforce will be approximately 97,000 people. This is the total of the predicted expansion plus replacement demand.

Northern Ireland