Patient experiences of hospital discharge pathways 0 at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital

This is a report by Healthwatch Gateshead. The project looks at experiences of patient discharge.

Gaining reflective feedback from patients with significant care needs post-discharge from hospital remains a challenge, creating gaps in understanding whether the hospital discharge pathway serves as an effective process. 

This research project sought to address this gap by developing a survey to collect feedback from patients, particularly focusing on those discharged on pathway 0, who identify as having no care needs upon discharge. By capturing these experiences, Healthwatch Gateshead aimed to assess the system's efficiency and identify areas for improvement to ensure patients experience a smooth, supportive transition home after hospital treatment. 

There are recommendations in this report:

• Although Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust have made their discharge information booklet publicly available via their website (Going Home – Gateshead Health; Returning Home from a Hospital Stay – Gateshead Council), more effort should be made to provide patients with general information at admission, including an overview of the admission and discharge process, key considerations, and follow-up care details. This could include GP surgery slides or leaflets on "Preparing for In-Patient Admission" and "Following Your In-Patient Care."
• Alternatively, GPs and hospital staff should ensure all patients receive clear, written discharge plans in both paper and digital formats including the NHS App, with families or carers receiving the same information when necessary.
• Hospital discharge staff should manage medication prescriptions in advance to avoid long waits for doctor signoffs, potentially by having doctors review medications the day before or exploring alternatives, such as other qualified/authorised staff or pharmacists, to handle this task.
• The hospital discharge staff team should establish a standard procedure, to involve family members, carers, and earlier in the discharge process.
• Discharge teams should streamline administrative processes, such as medication and transport coordination, to reduce discharge waiting times.
• We acknowledge that patients over the age of 65, on pathway 0 get a call from Age UK Gateshead, however, a mandatory follow-up call or appointment within 48-72 hours of discharge should be implemented for patients of all ages discharged on Pathway 0, to monitor patient recovery and address concerns, using the patient system to flag this as a ‘task’ for hospital discharge team staff.
• The hospital should introduce a risk-based tracking system to identify patients on pathway 0 at high risk of readmission, ensuring targeted interventions like remote health monitoring or additional social care support.

There are no follow up actions in this report. The provider has responded.