The National Health and Social Care Discharge Taskforce launched a '100-day challenge' to support health and social care in improving discharge practice.
The taskforce's intention is to improve outcomes for patients who no longer meet the 'criteria to reside' so they can be discharged from hospital, cared for in more appropriate settings, and to release much-needed capacity within acute providers.
The aim of the 100-day challenge is to improve discharge and ensure the best possible position ahead of winter 2022, by 30th September 2022 (100 day from the soft launch) all trusts and systems are asked to have:
- a full understanding of the 10 interventions and the associated tiered support offer available from NHS England to assist with implementation
- infrastructure in place to focus on the implementation of the 10 initiatives
Learning from the pilot sites and building on the work of the taskforce, 10 best practice initiatives have been identified. The 10 best practice initatives that demonstrably improve flow and improve discharge are listed by NHS England as:
- Identify patients needing complex discharge support early
- Ensure multi-disciplinary engagement in early discharge plan
- Set expected date of discharge (EDD)
- Ensure consistency of process, personnel and documentation in ward rounds
- Apply 7 day working to enable discharge of patients during the weekend
- Treat delayed discharge as a potential harm event
- Streamline operation of transfer of care hubs
- Develop demand and capacity modelling for local and community systems
- Establish flexible surge workforce capacity
- Revise intermediate care strategies to optimise recovery and rehabilitation
To read more about the 100-day challenge visit transform.england.nhs.uk.
To reflect on national developments and learning from the National Health and Social Care Discharge Taskforce and 100-day challenge join our virtual conference A Practical Guide to Improving Discharge Practice.