A NEW patient advice service at Huddersfield Royal Infirmary is being extended to cover doctors' surgeries.

The Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Trust Patient Advice and Liaison Service (Pals) was set up last year to advise and support hospital patients, answer queries and concerns and resolve problems quickly.

It has now branched out to help patients of Huddersfield GPs.

Dawn Gaukroger, Pals co-ordinator for the Central and South Huddersfield primary care trusts, said the advice service provided from the Infirmary was well- established and effective.

She said it made sense for the trusts to join the scheme to make one contact point for patients, whether a query was about hospitals, community nursing, GPs or dental services.

Ms Gaukroger added that team would make sure any queries or concerns would be resolved or passed on, if necessary.

She went on: "The team also supports healthcare workers so that, where possible, they can respond to queries directly."

This ensured that people received the advice and support they needed quickly and easily.

Information from Pals will enable hospitals and GPs to learn from patients' experiences.

All cases raised are recorded, to highlight local issues and concerns, said Ms Gaukroger. "This will mean services being improved and more patient-centred services developed."

The team is based at the Royal Infirmary. The office is open between 9.30am and 3.30pm, Monday to Friday. Alternatively, ring 01484 342128 or email pals@cht. nhs.uk