Quality standard
This quality standard covers admissions into, and discharge from, inpatient hospital settings for adults (aged 18 years and over) with social care needs. It describes high-quality care in priority areas for improvement.
It does not cover inpatient mental health settings, which is covered by NICE's quality standard on transition between inpatient mental health settings and community or care home settings.
How to use NICE quality standards and how we develop them
Quality standards help you improve the quality of care you provide or commission. They apply in England and Wales (see the UK government website and Welsh government website). Decisions on how they apply in Scotland and Northern Ireland are made by ministers in the Scottish government and Northern Ireland Executive.
Find out how to use quality standards and how we develop them.