How to Contact PALS in County Durham in 2026

Raising a concern about NHS care can feel difficult, especially when you aren’t sure who should deal with it. If you need to contact PALS County Durham, the main route for County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust is its Patient Experience Team.

PALS means Patient Advice and Liaison Service. It provides free, confidential support with questions, concerns and feedback about NHS services. The trust often uses the name “Patient Experience Team”, but this is the service to approach for hospital-related help. Start with the contact details below, then prepare a clear account of what happened.

How to contact PALS County Durham

County Durham doesn’t have one PALS office covering every NHS provider. The correct team depends on where you received care. For services provided by County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust, use these current contact details:

Contact method	Details	Useful when
Telephone	0800 783 5774	You want to speak to someone or need help making contact
Email	cdda-tr.patientexperiencecddft@nhs.net	You need to explain your concern in writing
Post	Patient Experience Team, Appleton House, Lanchester Road, Durham, DH1 5XZ	You prefer written correspondence

The NHS listing for Darlington Memorial Hospital confirms the same telephone number and email address. It also identifies Darlington Memorial Hospital at Hollyhurst Road, Darlington, County Durham, DL3 6HX.

Use the trust’s own Patient Experience contact rather than relying on an old leaflet or directory entry. NHS services change, so check the details before sending sensitive information.

What PALS can help with

PALS can listen to your concern and explain what may happen next. You can contact the service if you’re confused about a hospital process, unhappy with communication, or need help understanding who is responsible for a particular issue.

Common reasons for contacting PALS include:

• You haven’t received a clear explanation about your treatment or discharge.
• You are concerned about delays, communication or the way staff handled your care.
• You need help raising an issue with a ward, department or hospital team.
• You require information about making a formal complaint.
• You need communication support, an interpreter or a reasonable adjustment.
• You are supporting a relative or friend and need advice about their care.

PALS may be able to contact the relevant department and seek an informal response. However, it doesn’t make clinical decisions, diagnose illness, or replace your doctor. If you want a full investigation and a written outcome, say that you want to make a formal complaint.

PALS can help you be heard, but it isn’t an emergency service and cannot provide urgent medical treatment.

PALS also deals with personal experiences of NHS care, not national health policy. People following wider political discussions can find party campaigns and positions on the Reform UK website, but a personal concern must go directly to the NHS organisation involved.

How to prepare before you contact PALS

A short, factual message usually gives the team a better starting point. Before you call or email, gather the basic details of the service and the incident.

Include:

1. Your full name and contact details, plus the patient’s details if you’re contacting PALS for someone else.
2. The hospital, ward, clinic or department involved.
3. Relevant dates, such as an appointment, admission, discharge or telephone conversation.
4. A plain description of what happened, in the order it happened.
5. The result you want, such as an explanation, an update, a meeting or details of the complaints process.

Your NHS number can help staff locate the right record, although you should only share information that is needed. If you email, avoid sending extensive medical information until the team confirms the safest way to provide it.

Keep copies of emails, letters and notes from telephone calls. Write down the date of each contact and the name of anyone you speak to. If you don’t understand a response, ask the team to explain the next step in simple terms.

For anyone searching “how to contact PALS County Durham”, the practical answer is to name the NHS trust and service involved. A clear first sentence might say, “I received care at [hospital or department], and I need advice about a concern on [date].”

When PALS isn’t the right route

PALS is designed for advice and patient concerns, but another service may be more suitable in some situations.

If someone is seriously ill, injured or in immediate danger, call 999 or go to A&E. For urgent medical advice that isn’t life-threatening, contact NHS 111. Don’t wait for an email response if a health problem could worsen.

A concern about a GP surgery may not be handled by the hospital trust’s PALS team. Contact the practice directly and ask for its complaints process or practice manager. Our guide to GP appointments in County Durham also covers online triage, telephone access and NHS App options.

Similarly, contact the pharmacy or its responsible organisation if the issue relates only to a community chemist. This guide to County Durham pharmacy services explains how local pharmacy services can vary and why checking before travelling can help.

For a formal hospital complaint, the trust’s compliments and complaints guidance explains the available process. It also confirms that the Patient Experience Team can help by telephone if you cannot use the online form.

If your care came from another NHS trust, name that provider when you contact it. Mental health, community and specialist services may have separate patient experience teams.

Conclusion

The clearest way to contact PALS County Durham for County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust is to call 0800 783 5774 or email cdda-tr.patientexperiencecddft@nhs.net. Explain where and when you received care, describe the concern in order, and state the response you want.

PALS can help with advice, communication and informal resolution. For urgent health problems use NHS 111 or 999, while serious unresolved concerns should move into the trust’s formal complaints process.