New initiative launched to improve hospital discharge times

The Welsh Government launched a new initiative to speed up hospital discharge times and improve community care.

The 50-day challenge aims to to help more people safely return home from hospital and ease winter pressures on the health and care system.

Health boards and local authorities will work together to adopt a 10-point action plan to support more people who have experienced lengthy delays in being discharged from hospital, to return home.

The challenge, closely linked to the Hospital Discharge Guidance, published by the Welsh Government in September,  is designed to ensure the NHS and local councils collaborate and ensure the right support is available to help people recover at home, or in the community.

All health boards and local authorities have accepted the 50-day Integrated Care Winter Challenge set by Ministers, which will run to the end of the year.

The challenge will also specifically target the people who have been waiting the longest to leave hospital.

Delayed discharges

The NHS in Wales, in common with the NHS across the UK, is experiencing persistently high levels of delayed discharges, which negatively impact on people’s long-term health and the “flow” through the wider health and care system.

Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care Jeremy Miles said: “It’s essential we support our health and care services over the winter so they can continue looking after the sickest and most vulnerable people.

“There is no place like home for people to recover from an illness or injury once they are ready to leave hospital. Equally there are a wide range of support services available in our communities that can help prevent people needing to go to hospital in the first place, helping them to stay well at home.

“The 50-Day Integrated Care Winter Challenge and the 10-point action plan will strengthen our health and social care system so that we can help more people to stay well at home and get more people home from hospital when they are ready to leave.

“I’m really pleased the NHS and local authorities have constructively embraced this challenge and have prepared to take immediate collective action to respond.”

Physical and mental wellbeing

Minister for Children and Social Care Dawn Bowden added: “Community-based care can improve outcomes, especially for older people and those with complex needs. We know people recover better at home than in a hospital, where unnecessary stays can affect their physical and mental wellbeing.

“There are many good examples where health and social care teams are working closely together to ensure people can be supported to stay well at home or move smoothly from hospital into the community where the right support is available to them.

“This 50-day challenge is about promoting best practice and making sure it is available and consistently applied across Wales.”

The 10-point action plan of best practice interventions includes plans for improving hospital discharge procedures; planning for discharge from the point of admission; ensuring there is proportionate and effective seven-day working to enable weekend discharges; undertaking more assessments in the community and providing community rehabilitation and reablement to help people recover fully.

Community health and social care services have a pivotal role to play in supporting people to remain well in the community. They assess what help people need, including access to rehabilitation, home adaptations or personal care in the community.

Failure

Responding to the plan, Plaid Cymru’s spokesperson for Health and Social Care, Mabon ap Gwynfor MS said: “After 25 years in power, this latest scheme is another admission of failure on Labour’s part to get to grips with the fundamental issues.

“They don’t have a care workforce plan in place, they aren’t paying carers enough, and they are failing to provide enough funding to our local authorities in charge of social care. While we welcome initiatives to speed up hospital discharge times and improve community care, until they get the fundamentals right we’ll only see more of the same.”

The 50-Day challenge is a key element of the Welsh Government’s winter resilience plans. The £146m Regional Integration Fund, the £11.95m Further Faster funds, and the £5m allied health professional funding are helping to build community capacity in the system.