Hospital discharge - are you hearing what we're hearing?

This report is an analysis of experiences people have shared with Healthwatch Surrey about being discharged from hospital and covers Spring 2018 to Spring 2020.  

We regularly share clusters of experiences and escalate individual cases of concern to our partners in acute trusts.  The aim of this report was twofold:  we wanted to take a broader and more strategic view of issues relating to hospital discharge, and to triangulate this information with the feedback local providers receive.

We undertook a thematic qualitative analysis of 150 positive or negative experiences relating specifically to discharge from hospital.  Most of the issues we heard about fell under one of three broad topics:

1.  Nearly half the people we heard from shared stories related to the clinical security, quality and safety of the discharge. These ranged from readmittance within days of discharge, leaving hospital with inadequate information, through to not feeling ready to leave hospital.

2.  Around three in ten issues concerned the discharge process – timing, organization, communication – and were primarily about lack of clarity and unexpected delays on the day of discharge.

3.  Around two in ten stories related to arrangements made in hospital for social care following discharge. These include experiences of discharge without assessment and poor support to find residential care.