How long does PALS take to respond?

The headline numbers

PALS is an informal service. There is no statutory response deadline in the NHS Complaints Regulations 2009 — those apply to formal complaints only. What you get instead is each trust's internal service standard, and they cluster tightly around these numbers:

Acknowledgement: 3 working days (most trusts publish this on their PALS page).
Simple issue resolved: 5–10 working days.
Complex issue resolved: up to 30 working days, sometimes longer for multi-team concerns.
Practical "something is wrong" threshold: no acknowledgement by working day 5; no substantive answer by day 20.

What happens at each stage

Days 0–3: triage. A PALS officer logs your concern, flags safeguarding or clinical-harm issues, and routes it to the right ward, clinic or service line.

Days 3–10: response gathering. The PALS officer contacts the team named in your concern, gets their version of events, checks against the notes if needed, and drafts a reply.

Days 10–30: resolution. You receive a written response with an explanation, apology if warranted, and any agreed actions. If the response involves multiple departments or a senior clinician's sign-off, this is where time slips.

Why PALS responses get delayed

The ward or clinic named in your concern doesn't respond to PALS internally.
Your concern crosses two trusts (e.g. a referral between hospitals) — PALS at one trust can only chase its own staff.
The issue is actually a clinical complaint and PALS is trying to find a way to handle it informally that the trust's governance team will accept.
Staff sickness, annual leave, or a service under review.

How to chase without starting over

On working day 10 of silence, send a single, calm follow-up email. Reply to your original PALS thread so it stays in the same case file. Suggested wording:

Subject: Second request — PALS concern raised [date] Dear PALS team, I raised the concern below on [date] and have not received an acknowledgement / substantive response. Please confirm receipt, the case reference, the officer handling it, and an expected resolution date. If this matter cannot be resolved through PALS, please confirm in writing so I can raise it as a formal complaint under the NHS Complaints Regulations 2009. [Original message below]

When to convert to a formal complaint

If you're past day 20 with no substantive answer, or the answer doesn't address what you raised, convert. A formal complaint to the trust's complaints team triggers the statutory 3-day acknowledgement and a written investigation, usually within 40 working days. See our PALS vs formal complaint guide for the exact wording, and our NHS complaints walkthrough for the full Stage 1 process.

If the underlying issue is your GP not investigating or referring — and you're using PALS because nothing else is working — the faster route is usually a NICE-cited letter that lands directly on your record. Finally Seen writes one for £49.

Frequently asked questions

›Is there a legal deadline for a PALS response?

No. PALS is informal and not governed by the NHS Complaints Regulations 2009. Most trusts publish their own internal target — typically a 3 working day acknowledgement and a resolution within 5–30 working days.

›What if PALS doesn't reply at all?

Email them again with the original message attached and the words 'second request'. If still nothing after 10 working days, escalate to a formal complaint to the trust's complaints team — this does trigger statutory deadlines.

›Does the 40-working-day complaints deadline apply to PALS?

No. The 40 working day target sits in the NHS Complaint Standards and applies to formal complaints under the 2009 Regulations, not to PALS concerns.

›Can I escalate a slow PALS case without restarting?

Yes. Ask PALS in writing to convert your concern to a formal complaint under the NHS Complaints Regulations 2009, or contact the trust's complaints team directly with your existing correspondence attached.