Enter and view: Patient Discharge Lounges, Redbridge

Healthwatch Redbridge (HWR) conducted E&V visits to the discharge lounges at Queens’s hospital, King George Hospital & Whipps Cross Hospital to review and understand the discharge procedures used within hospitals serving the local area.

A number of concerns were identified such as discharges being completed late in the evening and long waits for medications. Further concerns have been raised by a number of Care homes, who have said that, in their opinion, some residents have been discharged too early leading to them being readmitted or they were sent home with little or no information about their diagnosis. Concerns have also been raised that there is no clear discharge pathway for service users that live in a specific part of the area.

Seven patients were spoken to during the visits. A further four patients were unable to complete the questionnaire.

A number of quite specific recommendations were made. The provider response also details a number of impacts through actions taken based on these recommendations including an action log that has been provided to Healthwatch Redbridge detailing the issues and actions being taken over the next three months to address the recommendations made in the report.

The report also includes all the information used as part of the process including a check list for observations, questions to be asked of different staff eg lead staff, other staff and patients.