Health Board Commits to Doing Whatever it Takes to Help Patients Leave Hospital

Wednesday 27th September 2023

When a patient is well enough to return home, hospital is not the best place for their recovery. Yet, due to difficulties with discharging patients back into the community, more than 300 people that no longer need hospital-based care are spending prolonged periods in hospital beds across Gwent.

The inability to discharge patients in a timely manner not only negatively impacts patients’ health, rehabilitation, independence and well-being; it also affects other patients waiting for treatment and access to hospital beds, meaning there are less beds available to treat sick patients.

Today, Aneurin Bevan University Health Board staff committed to doing everything they can to help these patients leave hospital, by assessing the needs of everyone declared as ‘medically fit’ and reviewing all of the care options available to them.

Due to the current challenges with community-based care, a large proportion of these discharge options could involve asking relatives to care for patients at home while they await a package of care. The dangers that pose patients who stay in hospital for longer than necessary are often far greater than the risks of returning home whilst support arrangements are made – and so the Health Board is urging families to step in and bring their loved ones home from hospital.

Dr Andy Bagwell, Deputy Medical Director for Aneurin Bevan University Health Board, said:

“The unfortunate reality is that if we don’t take action now, the resultant overcrowding in the hospital bed base will impact on the safety of the patient care we can deliver. Hospital care has to be reserved for those who are unwell. As soon as hospital care is no longer required, the safest and best place for a patient is to be at home or in appropriate residential care.

“We will need the support of families to help these patients leave – if patients are medically fit to leave hospital then they will be discharged, and family members may need to be asked to provide input until a package of care becomes available.”

With the 300 medically-fit patients equivalent to 80% of the patients in Community Hospitals across Gwent, help from loved ones to get patients home will make a significant difference to the flow of patients in hospitals.

This new approach to helping patients leave will also include discussing a patient’s discharge options as soon as they arrive in hospital, as well as considering discharging patients to an appropriate environment for a more rapid recovery, such as a temporary place in a care home.

Dr Bagwell said:

“The NHS will not survive if we let our hospitals become nursing homes – these patient flow difficulties are causing longer waits for patients who are seriously unwell and urgently need our help. Ultimately, for a better standard of care, shorter waiting times, and for the NHS to survive, then our local population need to choose the right services for their needs and look after family members who need to be discharged from hospital.”