Hospital Discharge Project September 2021

Healthwatch Southampton wanted to highlight how the system can use patient and carer feedback to improve services and make the policy of D2A work locally. They undertook a survey of the public and interviewed staff. They spoke to 38 people.

Staff said that home working made it difficult for them to arrange good discharge plans.  Due to limited contact with the patient, staff felt that they weren’t getting enough information, meaning the need to follow up and therefore delaying discharge.

Due to Covid 19 lockdown restrictions and discharge staff working from home, nurses were taking on part of the social care role they had not done before. Many of those interviewed were of the opinion that the healthcare professionals now taking on some of the social care work previously done on the ward did not fully understand their new role.

Due to the pandemic, staff felt under pressure to discharge patients quickly. On the positive side, staff felt that partnership working had strengthened due to the new discharge arrangements.

Of the thirty-one survey respondents, 6 reported a neutral experience of the discharge process, 12 reported an overall positive experience and 13 a negative experience. Carers, in particular, reported negative experiences of the discharge process, mainly due to a lack of communication.

A common source of frustration for patients and carers was the number of different professionals they had contact with during the discharge process. They would have liked one person to communicate with.

Over two thirds of people felt that the person they cared for was well enough for discharge.  Over half were signposted for support.  Nearly a third hadn’t had any care needs assessment since leaving hospital.

Over two in five felt let down by the discharge experience. 

The report contains 14 recommendations to improve the hospital discharge process.