Our hospital discharge service has received national recognition in the prestigious Health Service Journal Awards.
Together with Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, we have been shortlisted in the acute sector innovation category.
There were more than 1,300 entries from 500 different organisations for the awards, which are recognised as the benchmark for healthcare excellence.
Our entry describes the personalised family support service we provide to families of hospital patients who are unable to return to their own homes and need to choose a care home.
Before our scheme, an audit showed it was taking an average of 16.2 days from the time a patient was fit for discharge to the time that patient was able to leave hospital. In other words, patients spent more than two weeks in hospital beyond the stage when acute care was of any clinical benefit.
The CHS Healthcare scheme has cut this delay (called DTOC: Delayed Transfer of Care) by ten days – average time taken to discharge is now an average of six days. With the focused, flexible support for families, care homes are chosen within just 48 hours.
Dr Richard Newland, chief executive of CHS Healthcare said: “The Trust recognised that families were struggling to make a choice of care homes and needed more support. We provide personalised family support – that means advisers can take family members to view homes, accompany them and ask questions. We have the resources of regular bed availability checks, care home portfolios and extensive knowledge, so we can help families to quickly focus on the most appropriate homes for their relative.
“In just one year, our service saved 5,203 inappropriate bed days, yielding an overall saving (subtracting the cost of the scheme) of £150,000.”
Winners of the HSJ Awards will be announced on November 19 at a ceremony at the Grosvenor House Hotel, London.
Alastair McLellan, Editor, HSJ, said: “The HSJ Awards are the greatest celebration of one of the world’s finest healthcare systems. The excellence it recognises is the best example of why the NHS remains Britain’s best loved institution.”
Read about what we do in Lancashire in more detail
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