Hospital discharge wellbeing checks in east sussex
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Healthwatch East Sussex undertook follow-up wellbeing checks of hospital patients discharged into East Sussex by East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust.
- A significant majority of those contacted had appropriate access to food and day-to-day essentials (84.5%), had support from family or friends to assist them (82%) and knew where to access appropriate support should the need arise (71%).
- Some 233 (16%) people were identified as having a support need. Whilst the number of discharge cases with needs was low, some issues did exist and on occasion these had a significant impact on the individuals concerned.
- In nearly two-thirds of cases where needs were identified (64%), these required no external support or assistance, either due to the nature of the need or the ability of the individual (with existing support) to respond to it themselves.
- The remaining 36% received signposting to appropriate health, care and community organisations such as GPs, Healthwatch East Sussex, Adult Social Care and Community Hubs.
- Forty-six individuals had immediate support requirements, primarily linked to medical conditions for which they had recently received treatment or were experiencing knock-on effects such as infections or ongoing symptoms.
- Feedback from a significant proportion of participants highlighted the positive value attributed to the follow-up checks, irrespective of whether they have a support need. Checks were viewed by recipients as providing an additional layer of re-assurance to all discharged patients, and where appropriate, support.
The report contains recommendations for East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust, other health or care commissioners or providers and for Healthwatch East Sussex.