Quick guide: supporting patients' choices to avoid long hospital stays

Author(s)

NHS ENGLAND, et al

Publisher(s):

NHS England

Publication year:

2016

This quick guide provides practical advice to help local health and social care systems reduce the time people spend in hospital when they no longer need acute care, but are delayed whilst making decisions about or making arrangements for their ongoing care. The guide covers: providing people with information about their choices after hospital discharge, providing support to allow patients to make choices about their ongoing care, the availability of care homes and care packages at home, a patients refusal to leave hospital, and use of interim packages and placements. Each section includes a checklist of actions to consider to help identify areas for improvement and examples of practical solutions to common problems, including links to useful resources. A template policy and template patient letters that can be customised and used locally are also included. (Edited publisher abstract)