Help us improve hospital discharge support
Called ‘Guiding You Home’ it aims to support as many patients as possible who have an urgent health or care need to receive that care as close to home as possible, as part of neighbourhood working.
The initiative is designed to ensure that people are given the right care in the right setting from the point of preparing for hospital discharge, through home-based services and ‘returning to independence’ beds.
‘Home first’ will be promoted as the priority, with the questions asked ‘why not home?’ and ‘why not today?’
The partnership behind Guiding You Home includes South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust, South Tyneside Council, Sunderland City Council and North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board.
Ward teams including doctors, nurses, therapists, discharge nurses and social workers will liaise with patients and carers to discuss discharge arrangements early in their hospital stay. This multi-disciplinary discussion will support the patient’s wishes and challenge assumptions that a care facility is best, coordinating a health and care response to support the patient home where possible.
As part of the research and consultation process a short online survey has been launched to ask patients and carers what care and support they would like to see in place to enable them to return to their own home rather than going into a care home.
It also asks what type of support and reassurance carers would need to help them support their relative/friend going home after a period in hospital.
