Abstract
Background
Nationally, the average rate of discharges drops by over a third over the weekend and prioritising these discharges is recognised by NHS England in improving patient care and facilitating the flow of patients through the hospital.(1)
Aims
To assess the documentation of criteria for discharge in Care of the Elderly wards for patients who were identified as having an estimated date of discharge within 72 hours and could be discharged over the weekend.Guidance from NHS England recommends clear plans to be documented in all patients notes detailing social, physiological and functional criteria for discharge.(1)
Methods
We performed a closed loop audit on the documentation of criteria for discharge for all patients on the Care of The Elderly wards identified as having an estimated date of discharge within 72 hours during the Friday morning multidisciplinary team (MDT) meeting.
We looked at whether criteria for discharge were documented, whether to take out medications (TTOs) were prepared and whether patients identified went on to be discharged.
Intervention
We provided the pre-existing Criteria-Led Discharge Tool to doctors present at the Friday MDT to document criteria for weekend discharge under the supervision of a senior decision maker.
Results
A total of 100 patients were identified as suitable for weekend discharge over the data collection period. Interim results show that following the intervention, documentation of criteria for discharge rose by 34% (31% - 65%).
References
1. NHS England. Rapid improvement guide to improving weekend discharges. Available from: https://transform.england.nhs.uk/improvement/100-day-discharge-challeng…