‘Discharge to Assess’ will focus mainly on Brock Ward, which includes elderly patients in hospital for routine procedures and people admitted while ill who are on their way to making a full recovery.
Pictured: A new scheme will encourage patients who can manage at home to be discharged from hospital more quickly and then assessed at home.
The key difference will be the point at which patients are assessed for any support needed at home. Until now, this has been done before discharge from hospital. Under the new scheme, it will be done when the patient is back home. But the patient must have been managing well at home before being admitted to hospital.
Elaine Burgess, Associate Director of Acute Nursing, said the new scheme is one of a number of measures being introduced to reduce pressure on hospital capacity.
“Our priority is always to discharge people as soon as they no longer need acute care as that is 100% what is best for the individual,” said Ms Burgess. “But as part of that we need to ensure they are able to live safely outside of hospital, which can sometimes unduly delay discharge.”
Ms Burgess said it was a “logical move to carry out discharge assessments at home” as it would “have the benefit of freeing up hospital beds sooner” and allow patients’ needs to be assessed “in the environment they will be living, which is obviously going be the most realistic and effective”.
Doctors on the ward will identify patients who are suitable for the Discharge to Assess scheme. They will then be visited at home by the States’ Community Reablement Service. A hospital bed will be kept free for 48 hours in case the patient needs to be readmitted.
Nicola Cross, an occupational therapist and co-lead of the Community Reablement Service, said the scheme would be good for patients and good for the hospital.
“Our team play a key role in ensuring the speedy recovery of many patients by getting them out of hospital and into their familiar home environment as soon as possible,” said Ms Cross. “This is a great addition to our community services and we are confident it will improve many more patients’ outcomes.”
Pictured: Karen Leach, Associate Director of Community Health and Social Care, feels the new scheme will be welcomed by many patients.
The new scheme will include newly-recruited support workers to help with the assessment of patients and reablement services.
Once back at home, some patients will need no further support, and they will be permanently discharged from hospital. Other patients will be referred to a range of reablement services, which can include up to six weeks of support through care packages or loans of equipment.
Karen Leach, Associate Director of Community Health and Social Care, said the scheme will focus on what most patients want – to be back home from hospital as soon as possible.
“Working in partnership with individuals, their families and our hospital colleagues, our Community Care Services want to continue to develop new and better ways to support people to live well at home,” said Ms Leach.