Show me the way to go home

How to ensure that people leave hospital as soon as possible and get the support they need to recover in the community has been a challenge in health and social care over decades. The problems caused by delays in discharges not only disrupt the ‘flow’ in and out of hospital, but they cause people to lose condition and confidence, making their recovery and continued independence less certain.

With the arrival of Covid-19 these issues took on a new significance and central government mandated the implementation of a Discharge to Assess (D2A) policy, supported by a National Discharge Fund to facilitate discharge through 4 pathways.

In this latest briefing paper from IPC, we reflect on the findings from our national evaluation of implementation of D2A with colleagues at RSM, and we identify the factors likely to be associated with greater success as health and care systems embed a Home First strategy.

This report was developed by Philip Provenzano, Melanie Henwood and Professor John Bolton from IPC with colleagues at RSM.

Systems needing support in managing their D2A strategy are welcome to contact Philip Provenzano, Assistant Director at IPC for further information.