An elderly person had to spend the night at a bus stop after a blunder left them stranded. The shocking incident happened when a hospital discharged the patient at 10pm.
There were no pick-up arrangements in place, which meant the patient was left with no choice but to spend the night outdoors. Healthwatch was told about the incident and carried out a number of interviews and surveys with ex-patients at the hospital.
Patients who had been discharged from the Acute Assessment Unit (AAU), at the hospital were asked about their experience and what could be improved to the overall discharge process. Some 38 per cent of patients said they were not happy about the discharge time due to delays, while 49 per cent had "no idea" how they could contact Newham University Hospital if they needed help, MyLondon reports.
One patient said: "I needed help with my belongings when I was discharged but no one helped as there was no porter. The waiting time also needs to be improved."
However 62 per cent of those asked said they were satisfied with the discharge time and had no issues. One patient said: "The discharge was okay. To be fair enough everything went well even though they were very busy, especially after the pandemic. I just had to wait a little bit for my medication and transport, but the rest was okay. I am happy."
It was recommended by Healthwatch Newham that staff should avoid discharging patients after 8pm, but if they have to, make sure there is communication between the patient, carers and family and have transport arranged for them. It also suggested: "All patients before leaving the hospital should be informed verbally and in a written document of ways to contact the hospital post-discharge whenever the need arise. This was not done consistently."
Healthwatch Newham said the hospital should have a communication strategy that would involve all teams who oversee the discharge of patients to "better integrate care and to minimise confusions and unnecessary delays during discharge".
Hospital staff should also check patients understand their care plan and should do this soon after admission so they are well-prepared for discharge.
A spokesperson from Barts Health NHS Trust said: “We regularly work closely with our colleagues in Healthwatch Newham to further understand the experiences that patients have at our hospital, including the development of this report. As well as highlighting positive aspects of our discharge process, this report identifies areas which we are addressing to improve the care our patients receive.”
