Quality standard

Quality statement 5: Involving carers in discharge planning

Quality statement 5: Involving carers in discharge planning

Quality statement

Adults with social care needs have family or carers involved in discharge planning if they are providing support after discharge.

Rationale

Families and carers can play a significant role in helping adults with social care needs return home after a hospital admission. It is therefore important that they are involved in decisions about the person's discharge plan, if they and the person agree. They can provide information about the person's needs and circumstances beyond medical conditions or physical needs. This means discharge planning can be more comprehensive and may reduce the likelihood of the person being readmitted to hospital.

Quality measures

The following measures can be used to assess the quality of care or service provision specified in the statement. They are examples of how the statement can be measured and can be adapted and used flexibly.

Structure

Evidence of local arrangements to ensure that adults with social care needs have family or carers involved in discharge planning if they are providing support after discharge.

Data source: Local data collection.

Process

Proportion of discharges from hospital of adults with social care needs where family or carers are involved in discharge planning if they are providing support after discharge.

Numerator – the number in the denominator where family and carers are involved in discharge planning.

Denominator – the number of discharges from hospital of adults with social care needs where family or carers are providing support after discharge.

Data source: Local data collection.

Outcome

a) Delayed transfers of care for adults with social care needs.

Data source: Local data collection. National data is published in NHS England's Delayed transfers of care.

b) Readmission rates for adults with social care needs.

Data source: Local data collection. National data on emergency readmissions within 30 days of discharge from hospital are available from the NHS Digital Indicator Portal as part of the NHS outcomes framework – indicator 3b.

c) Family and carer satisfaction with involvement in discharge planning for adults with social care needs.

Data source: Local data collection.

What the quality statement means for different audiences

Service providers (hospitals) ensure that systems are in place to enable adults with social care needs to have family or carers involved in discharge planning if they are providing support after discharge.

Health and social care practitioners (such as discharge coordinators and members of the hospital-based multidisciplinary team) ensure that adults with social care needs have family or carers involved in discharge planning if they are providing support after discharge.

Commissioners (clinical commissioning groups) ensure that they commission services in which adults with social care needs have family or carers involved in discharge planning if they are providing support after discharge. This supports NHS England's Seven day services clinical standards, standard 1.

Adults with social care needs have family or carers involved in planning their move out of hospital if they are going to provide them with support at home.

Definitions of terms used in this quality statement

Carer

A carer is someone who helps another person, usually a relative or friend, in their day-to-day life. This is not the same as someone who provides care professionally or through a voluntary organisation. [NICE's guideline on transition between inpatient hospital settings and community or care home settings for adults with social care needs]