From hospital to home: A patient's discharge journey

Healthwatch Redbridge (HWR) have been conducting a number of projects to assess the quality and safety of Hospital discharge procedures and rehabilitation services throughout the borough following a number of issues and concerns raised by patients and carers.

In this report HWR took the decision to follow the patient’s (MrsH) challenginig journey and to intercede on her behalf in order to review the complete discharge pathway, from Whipps Cross Hospital. Mrs H, a 78 year old lady, who was facing an extremely distressing time with regards to her discharge, spent 6 months in a nursing home before being discharged to her own home with a package of care.

The report identifies in detail the issues faced by Mrs H after her discharge from the hospital. After fracturing her ankles and staying 6 days in the hospital Mrs H was ready to be discharged, but according to her doctor ‘The pathway for Redbridge Patients attending Whipps Cross Hospital was not clear’. When she was finally discharged, the discharge arrangements nor care plan were discussed with her.

The report further identifies, in detail, a number of additional problems with the services at Whipps Cross Hospital in regard to appointments, communication between departments and a lack of information at each stage of the patient’s journey.

HWR arranged for Mrs H to meet with the Patient Experience Lead (PEL) from Whipps Cross Hospital to discuss her concerns. HWR staff supported Mrs H to develop some questions that she could raise at the meeting. The meeting took place in April. The responses received by MRS H were copied to NELFT in order for them to comment. The report includes responses from both Barts Health and NELFT to Mrs H’s questions.

Barts Health asked to apologise to Mrs H for the distress she received and confirmed that a meeting will be held with the therapy team to highlight the importance of clear communication.

The report identifies all the continuing issues faced by Mrs H until 5 May, when she returned to her own home with a care package. This package consisted of four calls per day with 2 carers and two domestic calls per week. She informed HWR her GP is also referring her to community physiotherapy.