The experiences of Bexley residents leaving hospital through the Discharge to Assess and Reablement schemes

Healthwatch Bexley carried out a small snapshot study to look into the experiences and views of 41 local people who were discharged from hospital between May 2018 and February 2019 under the Discharge to Assess (D2A) and Reablement schemes. 

Key findings included: 85% of people stated they felt ready to leave hospital when they were discharged; three quarters of people rated the quality of care they received after discharge as either ‘good’ or ‘very good’; 85% of people felt that their views were taken into consideration when the social worker came to talk about what help they might need; 85% of people thought that the help they received covered their care needs at home; only 17% of people had been readmitted to hospital in the past three months. People told Healthwatch Bexley that it was important their care workers were friendly and took the time to talk to them. They also valued continuity and wanted to see the same carer or group of carers on a regular basis. People also said that it was important that their carers arrive on time, and at an appropriate time for the tasks they are there to complete.

Healthwatch Bexley made four recommendations in the report: all patients should be happy and feel ready to be discharged from hospital; all agencies involved with the D2A process must continue to take patients’ and carers’ views into consideration; all patients discharged via the D2A pathways should be provided with leaflets about the service being provided and feedback forms for them to comment if they wish to do so; more changeover time should be built into care worker schedules to protect against lateness, and communication needs to be improved when care schedules are affected.