"Discharge from ED"

I understand completely the pressures that the hospital and wider healthcare system are under. I understand how stressed and de-motivated staff are as I work in healthcare. However I feel I must tell my Father's story because something has gone very wrong and we are completely missing the point of healthCARE.

Dad is in his 70's and fell 20ft from a ladder on Monday morning. He was very lucky, badly bruising his back and fracturing a vertebrae in his neck but otherwise no more severe injuries. He has to wear a hard collar for 6 weeks or so but should rehab with physio support.

The team in ED were professional and helpful, and whilst I was not able to see Dad despite double jab, negative LFT etc I do understand this is the policy. The front door team (physio and OT) reviewed him and announced that he could go home that afternoon. All very well, but Dad lives on his own at least 30 minutes drive from family and out in the sticks. He ended up going to stay with family for a few days, good job as he hasn't been able to mobilise for the past 4 days, there has been no mention of physio, he was discharged with a cannula still in his arm and NO PAIN RELIEF, plus the Homecare nurses that were due to see him went to the incorrect discharge address and didn't get to him until day 4 after D/C. All in all a pretty sad story and no doubt being repeated over and over again.

Being able to see both perspectives, from the healthcare professional and the patient's standpoints is useful. To help improve the patient experience I would suggest: ensuring communication channels between agencies are robust (e.g. correct discharge destination being communicated to community teams); ensuring patients are discharged with appropriate medication to avoid suffering and additional burden for GPs; ensuring the Front Door team (Physio and OT) make the appropriate timely review arrangements for patients when home (to avoid delays to rehab and increasing the impact of injury, reduced mobility and increased morbidity; ensuring patients are checked for cannulas etc prior to being allowed out of the department to avoid unnecessary infection risk (the cannula in question was not dated).

I don't wish to moan as I know everyone is doing their upmost in very very difficult circumstances and are asked again and again to do more and more when resilience and motivation are low. I feel the senior management team need to remind themselves that there are patients on the end of every admission - it's not just about the short-sighted  'getting them out as fast as possible', it's about ensuring patients have appropriate support to improve outcome and avoid readmission. Thank you for taking the time to read this.