Patient experience of hospital discharge in Essex
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Hospital Discharge in Essex: A Study of Patient Experience & Discharge Processes
IRAS ID
167595
Contact name
Oonagh Corrigan
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Healthwatch Essex
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 11 months, 2 days
Research summary
The experiences of patients and their carers preceding and following hospital discharge are often unsatisfactory. Hospital discharge is a complex process whereby patients are not only discharged to their own homes but are also transferred to other hospitals, and different parts of the health and social care system including care in the community, residential care homes, specialist units, hospices and other healthcare organisations. Nationally, problems such as miscommunication, incorrect diagnoses, delayed and premature discharge, and patients being sent home late at night and without the support or care they require, have been highlighted. Local studies confirm this to be an issue for people in Essex and we have been encouraged to conduct this research by members of the public as well as health and social care commissioners and providers in Essex. This proposed study will take place in three NHS hospital Trusts in Essex.
Our review of the literature reveals a paucity of studies that focus exclusively on the patient experience of hospital discharge, and on challenges faced by health and social care staff in providing a smooth discharge process. This study will capture patient ‘lived experience’ of hospital discharge and identify, through ethnographic observation and interviews with staff, areas that generate problems, as well as solutions to the smooth and timely discharge process. Our investigation seeks to explore how hospital discharge processes and practices including their communication with health and social care bodies outside the Trusts involved, are communicated and executed; patient and carer involvement in decision-making; patients’ perceived readiness for discharge, and the experiences of patients post-discharge. As an independent organisation with statutory powers to represent patient and service user's voice and lived experience to relevant health and social care providers in Essex, Healthwatch Essex is well placed to undertake this research to improve patient experience.REC name
East Midlands - Nottingham 1 Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
15/EM/0070
Date of REC Opinion
27 Mar 2015
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion