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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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| Organisation and features of hospital, intermediate care and social services in English sites with low rates of delayed discharge | | Author(s) | Matt Baumann, Sherill Evans, Margaret Perkins |
| Journal title | Health and Social Care in the Community, vol 15, no 4, July 2007 |
| Pages | pp 295-305 |
| Source | http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/hsc |
| Keywords | Social Services Departments ; Hospital services ; National Health Service ; Delayed discharge ; Discharge [hospitals] ; Qualitative Studies. |
| Annotation | The establishment of the Health and Social Care Change Agent Team, implementing the Community Care (Delayed Discharge) Act 2003, and new investment are key policy elements in tackling delayed discharge from hospital. Whilst the problem of delays has been widespread, some authorities have managed to tackle delays successfully. This qualitative study investigated discharge practice and the organisation of services at sites with consistently low rates of delay, to identify factors supporting such good performance. Six 'higher performing' English sites (each including a hospital trust, a local authority and a primary care trust, PCT) were identified using a statistical model. 42 interviews were conducted with health and social care services staff involved in discharge arrangements. The authors also tried to investigate patients' experiences, to examine whether there was a cost to patient care and outcomes of discharge arrangements in these sites, but sufficient patient participation could be secured. Whilst acknowledging the lack of patient experience and outcome data, a range of service elements was identified at the sites that contribute to the avoidance of delays, either through supporting efficiency within individual agencies or enabling more efficient joint working. Sites still struggling with delays should benefit from knowledge of this range. The government's reimbursement scheme seems to have been largely helpful in the study sites, prompting efficiency-driven changes to the organisation of services and discharge systems, but further focused research is needed to provide clear evidence of its impact nationally, and in particular how it affects staff, and patients and their families. (RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-070814207 A |
| Classmark | PF: LD: L4: LD:QKM: LD:QKJ: 3DP |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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