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Background and policy
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Last modified date:8 February 2007
The NHS Plan (July 2000) announced the commitment to establish a PALS in every trust by April 2002.
2001-2002
PALS implementation began in April 2001 with the establishment of over 100 Pathfinder or early implementer PALS. The evaluation of the pathfinders contributed to the development of the resource pack: Supporting the Implementation of Patient Advice and Liaison Services: A Resource Pack 2002. This document included national core service standards and was designed to support trusts with the implementation of PALS and to maximise their impact.
From April 2002, recurring annual funding was added to NHS baseline allocations with the expectation that it would be used for PALS. Whilst Trusts and PCTs continued to be responsible for the implementation and resourcing of PALS, there was an emerging picture that development of PALS in the NHS was patchy and that the target of establishing PALS in all trusts by April 2002 would not be met.
2003 - current
To ensure the continued delivery of PALS development nationally, the Department of Health facilitated representation from each Strategic Health Authority (SHA) area to work together to identify and prioritise a national PALS development agenda. This group formed the basis of the National PALS Development Group (NPDG). With representation of PALS staff from each of the SHA areas, the NPDG looks at providing solutions and sharing learning and best practice.
In the light of learning from active PALS, the national service standards were revised and strengthened. The PALS Core National Standards and Evaluation Framework, now in use, were issued to the service in August 2003 and replace those previously issued in January 2002 (Supporting the Implementation of Patient Advice and Liaison Services: A Resource Pack).
The Department continues to work through the SHA patient and public leads network and the NPDG to ensure ongoing service development and quality improvement. Further details of current PALS development activities can be found at:
The on-going development of PALS locally is part of the wider drive to ensure that services are responsive to local needs. For PALS, like many other services, this means they have the flexibility and capacity to provide a service that is responsive to local people. The on-going development of local PALS remains the responsibility of the local NHS.
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