An innovative team of social workers, physiotherapists and community nurses is helping hundreds of patients to leave hospital more quickly.
The admission prevention team has reduced the number of long hospital stays, making it easier for A&E (accident and emergency) staff to find beds for those who need to be admitted.
The team was formed as part of a joint project involving Brighton and Hove City Council and the Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust.
The council said: “A new admission prevention team is successfully preventing lengthy hospital stays, freeing up much-needed A&E bed space in the Royal Sussex County Hospital.
“The cutting-edge team comprises social care workers, community nurses and physiotherapists.
“By ensuring early engagement with support providers, it aims to achieve better outcomes for patients, improve hospital flow and promote independence while providing preventative care. And it’s working.
“The admission prevention team was set up in June 2023 to address complex patient needs that prevented rapid discharge from the Emergency Department.
“The approach is already showing promising results. Over the first year of operation, the team has supported more than 1,750 patients.
“Of those, more than 1,000 patients have been supported to leave hospital quickly and provided with the support they need to continue treatment in the comfort of their own home.
“The team is based in the patient handover area in A&E at the Royal Sussex and works closely with the South East Coast Ambulance Service, the Integrated discharge team and the Emergency Department team.”
Councillor Tristram Burden, the council’s cabinet member for adult social care, public health and service transformation, praised the scheme.
He said: “This team is such a great example of the power of partnership working between our city council and our NHS. The results speak for themselves.
“While the hospital still experiences challenges, the same-day discharge that the team is sometimes able to accomplish slashes waiting times and ultimately improves patient outcomes.
“This frees-up beds on the one hand and reduces waiting times on the other, ensuring patients that might otherwise have gone into A&E get the right care and support in a more appropriate place.
“I am very grateful for the fantastic work our admission prevention team is doing to support patients and the hospital emergency teams and look forward to their future success at improving health outcomes for patients.”
Put them on the helicopter deck, it will never be used.
This is a great idea in theory. I feel passionate about people not staying in hospital longer than they have to, purely from my perspective as a pensioner, that cares for my elderly husband. This is long winded, but it’s important to me, and I would hope many other older people.
Ok, my husband was admitted to hospital on 11/05/24. I’m going to put some details, because I don’t always explain myself properly, plus I’m hoping it’ll give an insight. He had right critical limb ischemia – rest pain and tissue loss.
Due to the availability of interventional radiology (not their fault, they must be inundated) he didn’t have the procedure done until 21/05/24. During those 10 days, the fab team did their utmost to ensure they took measures to prevent him losing a limb.
During this time he lost some mobility, but was medically fit. He was transferred to a nursing home that did rehab. They don’t have rehab every day, and it was evident to me that my husband was becoming depressed, not in his own home environment, with his personal belongs, and people items that are familair. I (we) would much rather he was discharged straight home with support, i.e to have his dressing done, physio and adaptations if necessary. Afer all he was in an expensive home, physio and OT’s didn’t come everyday. All staff at the home were brilliant. However, if they have visiting physios and OT’s, why can’t they provide this in the persons’ home? I don’t understand how there would be such an impact on finances!
He did have OT’s visit our home. I ensured that the things she recommended I did, including getting someone in to resite our water butts so pipes weren’t a hazard, moving his shoe rack. However, she did not notice that my husband wouldn’t even a get a frame very far into the room, let alone have enough turning at the end of the bed.
I was an auxiliary in the early 90’s at St Charles’ Hospital in London. I used to see patients give up the will to live and die. It used to break my heart, that people didn’t make it home. Now I’m in that age group, and so’s my husband. I want people to realise the importance of going home. To also “step out of their world” and into the ours the patient, the family member that gives care, and so forth.
I do use a pseudoname, so hopefully not disclosing our real i.d.
I chuckle at the term admission prevention team, since they are already admitted. Prevent patients from entering hospital by improving what can be done in community.
In reply to Benjamin as the website won’t let me post an actual reply, I also though the term “admission prevention” was the wrong way round when the patient is already in hospital. The term “discharge acceleration” doesn’t sound very pleasant but would seem to cover what the team is trying to do. Perhaps “patient discharge facilitation” would be better, but I still have a mental picture of people shooting out of doors and windows all over the place.