Care homes trust our hospital discharge process

By Uko Umotong

An in-depth assessment of our work in East Yorkshire shows what care homes value:

• trust
• quality of information
• communication and family support

East Riding of Yorkshire Council carried out the independent evaluation in January 2019 and asked care homes about their experience of hospital discharge co-ordination provided by CHS Healthcare.

The main themes are:

• CHS Healthcare provide quality information and regular communication to care home which can sometimes be lacking in hospitals which are a busy and demanding environment
• Care homes highlighted the importance of trust, when hospitals and care homes have different priorities in the discharge process this can sometimes create challenges

Quality information and consistent communication supports efficient discharge:

“The CHS Healthcare standard of calls is much better than the hospitals and the social workers.  Sometimes the care home can get three separate phone calls all about the same person; the calls are much better managed where CHS Healthcare is involved.”

Care home liaison means we can reduce pressure on wards and care homes:

“The wards are so busy that hospital staff don’t have time to speak when the care home manager goes to assess; sometimes it is difficult to know who to speak to on the ward.’’

We provide accurate referrals:

“The ward can be more generic in how they describe the person; the description from CHS Healthcare is much more accurate.”

We reduce anxiety for families and patients:

“CHS Healthcare will ring the care home and agree when it is appropriate to attend and then contact the family; the family seem more at ease, and better informed; whereas before, family would visit unprepared and not knowing what to ask / look at; families coming through CHS Healthcare appear less stressed and more comfortable.” 

“Usually CHS Healthcare meet the family and takes them to the care home which works very well. Families can be apprehensive but CHS Healthcare acts like an advocate to the family. Visits are always smoother if CHS Healthcare is there.”