Community equipment and housing adaptations: draft guidance - executive summary

Hospital Discharge

To ensure seamless arrangements for the discharge from hospital settings, it is important that a range of staff within the hospital (occupational therapists, physiotherapists, liaison nurses, and staff within multi-disciplinary discharge teams) can assess and order directly, equipment for 'safe discharge', for their patients. It is important that these staff are supported to provide all aspects of the assessment role including follow-up and conclusion of the assessment following provision and/or work jointly with other community based colleagues to fulfil these responsibilities.

A Good Practice Guide to providing community equipment on discharge from hospital, based on arrangements tested and implemented in some existing services in Scotland, has been developed to assist local services clarify roles and responsibilities for the provision of equipment, between the hospital and community settings, and support the implementation of clear and effective pathways.

Key Actions

• Health & social care Partnerships should utilise the Hospital Discharge equipment provision good practice guide, to support improvements in the provision of equipment for discharge.
• Health & social care Partnerships should ensure that a range of staff within the hospital can assess and order directly, equipment for 'safe discharge'.
• Health & social care Partnerships should ensure that clear pathways are in place to allow hospital staff to refer to relevant community staff for the assessment and ordering of equipment for more complex, ongoing needs.
• All services should avoid over-prescription for patients, and agree simple solutions, to ensure a seamless, and safe discharge.
• Services should explore the opportunities to implement a Planned Date of Discharge approach, to improve forward planning for the provision of equipment for discharge.
• Services should explore the opportunities to implement a Planned Date of Discharge approach, to improve forward planning for the provision of equipment for discharge.