Has anyone worked for PALS on here? (NHS!)

[JethroSlides]

Just wondered if anyone on here has worked for PALS and can share their experience, how they find it etc.

Oops - should of posted in the work section!

Bump for the morning crowd?

Pre dc yes - got sacked. Awful organisation at the location I worked, I was basically guilty of ‘misconduct’ which was because I wouldn’t ‘lose’ notes and lie and wouldn’t remain neutral (we had to be very much ‘I understand why YOU feel that way’ and to only ever be sort for the way people felt not any wrong action by the trust (it was a admittance as such if we did ) it was just awful. Final straw came with falsifying notes and I made the mistake of arguing and threatening to expose before whistleblowing which was then seen as me just trying to ‘cover misconduct’

I've worked adjacent to them for years. Like any department they can be hit and miss, the job is what you make of it really.

Yes. It's a tough job and it's frustrating when you can't help or have to deal with arseholes but worth it for the times when you can help and have a positive impact on someone's care. The bureaucracy is also frustrating but I feel that the Trust I work for is very transparent about errors and willing to learn.

Would you say you have to be a certain kind of person to do the job? Or is it entirely trainable?

Do you have to be quite a naturally confident person or are you trained thoroughly on how to handle different situations?

I’ve worked and managed PALS teams.

I think the biggest challenge is that PALS tends to sweep up quite a few (long standing) colleagues who are largely incompetent and have been “moved” from other areas because PALS isn’t clinical so they are seen as not being able to do much damage. This is wrong, because the PALS team dynamics are often quite dysfunctional because of this.

I doubt you will get much training but you will pick it up. It is traumatic work and emotionally hard. Personally I found is hugely rewarding though.

The challenge is that teams are often hard work. But you do just need a good colleague or two to cope with that. But I would bear that in mind.

I worked in Pals for a year -was supposed to be a temp 6 weeks job (they kept renewing until I got the job I really wanted in a different workplace and left). The Trust had- and still has- immense problems with Pals staff retention. You need to be a positive personality who can bounce back as the role is stressful and you are everyone's emotional punchbag.
My experience-
Positives- every day, every person and complaint is different, and you can make a huge positive difference to vulnerable patients sometimes.
Also flexible hours are good when you have kids.
Negatives- the hospital wants to hide errors and you will have to be economical with the truth. In addition it's not just angry patients who yell at you- you have to chase senior NHS staff, who are already under stress and some abuse pals staff too.

The senior manager with overall control of Pals when I was there used to call being yelled at for no reason by senior NHS staff 'taking one for the team'- it was the usual occurance, not rare, was a major reason staff didn't last, and would not be permitted in more professional workplaces.

Ive also worked in the team and am now a manager. It is trainable, I think you need to be confident (as you are chasing senior staff much of the time), robust (as some people are not very pleasant) and empathetic.
I agree with the posters above but think I have been very lucky as I have a hugely supportive team and we've never had problem staff foisted on us. I do think that the effectiveness of PALS is dependent on the ethos of the Trust you work for and the support you have from the Board (we have good relationships with our CEO and other exec board members and they are always happy to meet and work with us). Staff retention is an issue as it is an emotionally draining rol sometimes and you need to be both empathic while also maintaining firm boundaries but if you think you have those skills go for it!

I'm definitely empathetic and can shrug off things to an extent, but I am a bit of an introvert and can be quite shy and quiet so I'm just worried I won't be sort of, outgoing or forthcoming enough to cope. I kind of want to take the job to force me out my comfort zone, because feeling like I can't talk to people/don't know what to say makes life difficult in general and has massively stopped me progressing work wise. I'm just very aware I could absolutely crash and burn instead of adapt and cope with it, so I'm unsure whether to accept or not.

I think the organisation aspect, handling multiple different cases, each day being different etc, problem solving etc is something I'm a good fit for but if I can't approach people and hold conversations I'm just going to tank it.

I don’t think being introverted is a problem: remember, most of the time people are approaching you and have a lot to say!!! Being a good listener is important. From what you have described, I think you’d be a good fit. :)

Did you go for it OP? Does anyone else have any experience with this role they are willing to share? I'm also deciding whether to take a PALS officer position or not.