Hospital Discharge
Sefton Adult Social Care support when coming out of Hospital
If you are leaving hospital following an illness or operation, you might need practical help with everyday tasks like bathing, dressing and other essential activities. This could be temporary situation while you’re on the mend or due to a more long-term condition.
Dementia and delirium patient leaflets
It’s important for us to work together to make sure you’re not in hospital any longer than you need to be.
Staying in hospital once you are well enough to leave has an impact on your health.
- Research has found that for every ten days of bed rest in hospital, patients aged over 80 suffer the equivalent of ten years of muscle ageing – this can make a big difference in how independent you are after leaving hospital
- Older people are more likely to become confused when in hospital. This confusion can have a lot of side effects, including making dementia worse. It can mean the difference between going home or going into a nursing home. We’re not sure why being in hospital has this impact, but it’s probably due to being in an unfamiliar and stressful place, away from a normal routine
- These unfamiliar surroundings and confusion make it more likely that patients will fall whilst they are in hospital. We do all we can to prevent this from happening but there are around 250,000 inpatient falls every year in the UK. Falling can cause injures and means that patients will spend even longer in hospital. Many of these patients wouldn’t have fallen if they had been at home
That’s why we want to discharge you from our hospitals as soon as we can, so you can recover at home or in another place more suitable for your needs and get back to your normal routine as soon as possible.
Did you know?
- Getting out of your night clothes and into normal clothes can help you to start feeling better
- Try to stay mobile if you can – it can help your recovery – make sure you ask if you can get up and out of bed
- Not smoking whilst in hospital can help you recover faster – nicotine replacement therapy can help and is available free of charge
Home First – Why not home, why not today?
Discover the steps and support available to ensure a smooth recovery at home after your hospital stay in the video link above.
Home First Patient Leaflet - Final Sefton Wide
Discharge to Assess (D2A) – Supporting Safe Transitions from Hospital
Discharge to Assess (D2A) is a key approach aimed at supporting patients in leaving the hospital when it is safe and appropriate for them to do so, while continuing their care and assessment in a more suitable environment outside of the hospital. The goal is to ensure that patients can be assessed for their ongoing care needs in the right place, at the right time.
What is D2A Pathway?
D2A Pathway is a discharge pathway for patients whose needs cannot be met through other pathways. This pathway is specifically for patients with a higher level of need.
In line with the Hospital Discharge and Community Support Guidance (2024), D2A Pathway should be used in rare circumstances. This pathway is for patients who have health needs and require a nursing care home to help assess their ongoing care needs and to support decisions about their future living arrangements.
Criteria for D2A Pathway:
To be eligible for D2A Pathway, patients must meet the following criteria:
- They have health needs, either physical or mental, OR
- They require discharge into a nursing care home to assess their long-term needs and to facilitate the choice of their permanent home.
How Does D2A Pathway Work?
When discharged under D2A Pathway, patients are transferred to a nursing care placement that is funded by the Integrated Care Board (ICB) for up to 28 days. This allows patients to continue receiving the care they need in a non-acute setting while they recover and undergo a detailed assessment of their long-term care needs.
Once the assessment is complete, D2A funding will end, and the next steps for the patient’s care will be determined.
What Happens After the D2A Period?
Patients discharged under D2A Pathway may have experienced significant life changes, such as the development of physical or mental health conditions, degenerative illnesses, or a palliative diagnosis (excluding end-of-life care). Following the 28-day assessment period, further support and funding, if needed, will be determined through a follow-up assessment process. This will establish whether the patient is eligible for additional financial support from either the NHS or the Local Authority. This may include a financial assessment as you may have to contribute to the cost of your ongoing care needs. Patients and their families or representatives will be fully involved in these discussions.