Discharging patients from hospitals has been a “key hot ticket” for many years, so the government looked at how it could streamline the process and make it more efficient, a meeting has heard.
The Adult Services Overview & Scrutiny Committee was told earlier this week (6 September) that the ‘discharge to assess’ approach brings health and social care teams together to jointly plan, commission, and deliver discharge services.
Part of the new system is to assess the needs of every patient before they are discharged.
These assessments have one of five outcomes, known as ‘Pathways’, and range from ‘no support required’ to ‘end of life’ support.
Simon White, chief officer-health integration, said: “Determining which of those five pathways happens on the ward.
“The staff on the ward will decide if you have any further requirement for services,” he said.
With Pathway One, patients are sent home with some support (health and/or social care).
The report said Bedford Borough patients who require an increase in their package of care will be discharged once the increased support is in place.
Cllr Mohammed Nawaz (Labour, Kempston Central & East) asked if there was enough staff to visit people who have been sent home alone but still require care.
Mr White replied: “Whether there’s enough care is part of the assessment process and it’s a part of the review process.
“So even if somebody thinks they can cope they are reviewed and checked that they are managing to maintain and look after themselves.
“And we do get input from the care agencies who will say actually we don’t think one visit a day is enough,” he said.
Ashok Khandelwal, an observer from Healthwatch Bedford Borough, wondered if the communication between the various teams involved in the discharge decision might cause delays.
Mr White replied that once a patient’s care could be continued at home, a hospital is the “worst place for them”.
He explained that for each discharge there is a lead organisation driving the process, so patients are not stuck in bed for “longer than they need to be”
“There are daily calls, I promise you, to try and make sure those bottlenecks go away, particularly if they involve social care,” he said.
by John Guinn
Local Democracy Reporter
