Discharge planning: an exploratory study

Hugh McKenna, Sinead Keeney, Anita Glenn, Pauline Gordon

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

58 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Summary· The desire to reduce the length of waiting lists in the modern health servicemeans that strategies for decreasing the length of hospital stay are exercising theminds of service planners.· This has led to renewed emphasis on well planned discharge policies andprocedures.· The aim of this study was to analyse all discharge policies and procedurescurrently in use in one large integrated NHS trust in Northern Ireland andformulate a Corporate Discharge Policy for general use in NHS trusts.· Objectives of the study included examining the current process of discharge,reviewing the interface between ward staff and district nursing services andexamining the quality and standard of documentation in use.· Findings indicate the need for standardization of the discharge planningprocess and suffcient notice of discharge, and for clari®cation and educationregarding staff roles, the importance of multidisciplinary working, and the lack ofquality communication between acute and community services.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)594-601
JournalJournal of Clinical Nursing
Volume9
DOIs
Publication statusPublished (in print/issue) - 2000

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