Patient admission, transfer and discharge
Date issued: November 2022
Review date: November 2024
Ref: D-308/AC/Ward/Patient admission, transfer and discharge
PDF: Patient admission transfer and discharge final November 2022.pdf [pdf] 185KB
Dear Patient
Welcome to Derriford Hospital. I hope your stay with us is a good experience and that you feel able to talk to our staff if you have any concerns or worries. This information is being provided to you, your family, friends and carers on admission to hospital to help you understand how we can plan for your discharge together.
The place of your care
On admission you will be assessed by the team involved in your care. This process can take between 12 – 36 hours. During this time, you may be moved on to another area within the hospital to ensure you receive the best care and treatment in the right place. A member of the nursing or medical team will talk to you before any move takes place. If the team looking after you believe you will benefit from further rehabilitation, depending on the type required, you may be transferred to a community setting i.e., a community hospital or care home, or you may receive this support in your own home.
Planning your discharge
To ensure you can leave hospital as soon as you are able, planning for your discharge will start almost immediately. This is standard and best practice as every day spent in hospital once you are better is harmful to you and your long-term health. Therefore, please ensure that you talk to the nurse caring for you about your home circumstances or previous care and support arrangements. If your care needs change whilst you are in hospital it sometimes takes a while to set up the new arrangements. If there is any delay, we will arrange for you to move to a suitable temporary place in the community whilst waiting for the right support services to be put in place. It is better to make decisions about your long-term support from a community setting than when in the hospital. Hospital beds need to be immediately available to those who need them and therefore we would ask that you work with us to ensure you are discharged from hospital as soon as you are ready to go. We will continually involve you in the making on these arrangements.
Further advice
We aim to provide you with safe and high-quality care during your hospital stay. If you have any questions or would like to ask for advice or support relating to this letter, please speak to the nurse looking after you.
If we are unable to find a care provider to meet your specific needs, we will offer you an alternative short-term arrangement to allow you to be discharged from Derriford. For further information about the NHS and Adult Social Care (Local Authority) obligations, please refer to the The Care Act and recent reviews
