How technology can reduce hospital discharge waiting times

Debbie Harris, MD at Autumna explains how technology can not only reduce waiting times, but also save the NHS money.

As we head into winter, hospital discharge and the issue of ‘bed-blocking’ is once again making headlines – with as many as 13,600 patients being fit for discharge but unable to leave according to one report.

Staff shortages are playing a major factor for many NHS and care providers, making it challenging for discharge teams to spend the required time to ensure a person has the correct care in place when they leave hospital.

However, as well as finding timely and available care, the most critical factor in appropriate hospital discharge is providing a detailed assessment of a person’s care needs to local support services.

A comprehensive care assessment ensures clinical discharge teams and local authority social care teams can match the care and support services to the person’s needs so they can safely be discharged from the hospital’s care.

In many cases, safe hospital discharge and recovery services do exist, but the data about how and where these can be accessed is limited.

Streamlining the process with the Dashboard for Accelerated Discharge (D.A.D)

There are lots of services offered by the independent and voluntary and community care sector; however, many clinical discharge teams and some local authority social care teams are not aware of these other non-clinical services.

This is where the Dashboard for Accelerated Discharge (D.A.D.) fits in.

D.A.D. provides a single point of contact to every available care provider in the UK. It is essentially a real-time data directory linking care services with hospital discharge teams and patients.

Instead of telephoning or emailing all the local authority-approved providers, D.A.D. provides a ‘communication tool’ allowing the Discharge Team or the patient to fill out just one, simple online assessment form to identify all care and support providers with availability that matches both the funding and care needs of the individual.

Once the form has been completed, whether they are residential or domiciliary, having been filtered for location, care preferences and specialist support, all appropriate care providers are contacted simultaneously.

The discharge team, patient or carer then receives available services in as little as 60 minutes, saving days and sometimes weeks of unnecessary occupied beds. A recent example of how this works in practice is shown in the diagram at the top of the page.

Benefits for care providers

Enquiries are sent directly to the care providers’ designated inbox with key information about the location, care needs and budget of the patient.

The care provider has the option to either decline or accept the enquiry.  Any acceptance is subject to assessment.

Furthermore, the list is created solely on a person’s support needs, and the provider does not pay for the placement.

Benefits for NHS Trusts

With the D.A.D. digital tool driving efficiency, tangible benefits for NHS Trusts include:

• Reduced number of days lost to delayed discharge
• Saved money estimated at £624,000 per year per hospital
• Saved hospital discharge teams’ time searching for care providers by 50%
• Increased patient engagement with the discharge process, thereby reducing delays
• Increased levels of care service information to patients and families to speed up decision making

Giving people choice

Most importantly, D.A.D. is enabling choice; it allows the patient to choose their care home or home care service appropriate to their needs, and other requirements.

The outcome is a patient’s health and well-being are properly supported, giving peace of mind to family, and other relevant carers that their loved one is receiving the appropriate care.