North Somerset special enquiry discharge

To contribute to the special enquiry, Healthwatch North Somerset chose to seek the views of service users at a local drop in centre for the homeless and vulnerably housed. Healthwatch North Somerset e chose to engage informally, through attending a drop in session, and Healthwatch North Somerset chose to focus on this specific group of people, as they are particularly vulnerable and never more so on discharge from hospital. This method of engagement enhances the ability of this hard to reach group to engage more effectively than a more formal survey. Added to this, they are also a group in society who are hidden, whose voice is seldom heard and who are often excluded from more formal methods of engagement.

The two community engagement workers from Healthwatch North Somerset spent two mornings at the centre in Weston super Mare and spoke in depth to the coordinator on duty as well as to service users. The sample was small, as this is a very hard to reach group and it is impossible to know in advance how many people will show up on any given day, our study was designed to be qualitative in approach and provide a snapshot view of several individual’s personal experiences. The responses received from each case study give an insight into some individual experiences in North Somerset at Weston General Hospital. In the course of analysing the qualitative data from this enquiry across the country, some correlations may become evident, and it may transpire that these experiences are not unique cases but indicative of wider issues across the country.

The findings in the report inform There was a lack of coordination between the Hospital discharge team and community based services. There was a lack of establishing that there was support in place for vulnerable people on discharge, including access to shelter. The service users were unable to articulate their vulnerability and it appears that they weren’t all asked about their personal situations. There was a lack of clarity on discharge and by the service users about any follow up care and/or treatment required. This is a hard to reach and hard to manage group of vulnerable people, some of whom are clearly slipping through the net.