"Mr Norman M - Currently a patient"

I am very concerned to hear about the problems you and your grandad have faced and sorry that it has taken too long to respond via the NHS Choices website as we have faced some technical difficulties in using this system. I very much hope that your concerns were addressed at the time. If not, or if you would like to talk to someone about your experience so that we can learn, improve and also use this at the heart of staff training to reinforce the values and standards of care that everyone needs - particularly people with additional care needs. The PALS office is located near the main Ward Block entrance at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital. It is normally open Mon-Thu 9am-5pm and Fri 9am-4.30pm. You can also contact them by telephone on 01743 261691 and 0800 783 0057, and there is an answerphone to take messages outside opening hours. Please note that PALS staff may be busy with other patients or relatives when you call, so please accept our apologies if they are not available immediately to take your call. More information about PALS is available from our website at http://www.sath.nhs.uk/patients-and-visitors/pals Your experience of access to a consultant is also a reminder of why we are working hard to find ways to improve access to services seven days a week. This can be really challenging in small hospitals like ours where in some specialties we are only able to provide a small specialist team who are not necessarily available on site seven days a week. This means that there is a big tension between providing services locally (e.g. on both of our hospital sites in Shrewsbury and Telford) or providing them more seamlessly (for example, by bringing together the services we provide onto a single site to provide better access to specialist staff seven days a week). These issues are not easy to solve and if you would like to share your ideas and feedback please do contact your local GP commissioners. They are responsible for deciding what local health services are purchased from the resources they receive through taxation. GP commissioners in Shropshire and in Telford & Wrekin have launched a debate across the county known as the Call To Action to hear about people's experiences of health services and their hopes for the future. You can find out more at http://www.shropshireccg.nhs.uk/call-to-action