When someone you love is in hospital, it can be worrying trying to understand what their needs will be when they leave. We have guidance and fact sheets here to help you and them feel in control of your care and choices:
Coming out of hospital | Carers UK
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Hi @Paola_Carers_UK @Michael_CarersUK
On that page can you add a link or call out this report: 'Carers' experiences of hospital discharge: Discharge to Assess model' | Carers UK.
This is the one I find MOST helpful in terms of lived experiences AND the pathways.
There is low awareness of the pathways and we need that as part of advocating for ourselves and our loved ones.
I mayāve missed it on the page, but I keep the link because itās hard to find otherwise.
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Personally I donāt think anyone elderly should be discharged until a proper assessment etc. Itās one thing to say āMum can do this, that and the otherā a few times in a hospital environment, quite another to do the same thing, alone, at 3am! To me, ādischarge to assessā is basically dumping someone at home without proper support! Often without the phone number ow who to call, or agreement if the hospital is responsible or Social Services. Theory and practice are very different Iām afraid.
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yes exactly @bowlingbun - the report highlights exactly that, how it doesnāt work, which is why I think its important that more people are aware of the disparity between process and action.
Lots of people are unaware that thereās even a āprocessā let alone trying to advocate for themselves.
This fits with needing to have advocates to support us in hospitals
I was trying to find some info for a friend and found this: Someone to speak up for you (advocate) - Social care and support guide - NHS
It looked like there are some advocatesā¦but yet again not much āup northā
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I asked for M and I to have advocates at the time of his last assessment. I never knew the name of Mās advocate. I wanted her to come to my place so M could show her the steam engines himself. Instead, advocate and care manager met him without me and told me he wasnāt interested in steam any more. All our steam friends just laugh at this! My own advocate wasnāt allowed to come to the reassessment meeting, but had to write a report to give to Mās advocate, which seemed out of order. Mās advocate then had ācar troubleā so didnāt attend the review at all! Utter waste of time. Voiceability let us down badly.
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Iām so sorry to hear that @bowlingbun Iāll keep your experience in mind, thanks for sharing. Something for @Paola_Carers_UK and team to note for anyone in the the future asking about advocates!
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As my son has severe learning difficulties in some areas, not in others, it takes time to understand his strengths and weaknesses. He canāt read, write, or do any maths, but has a photographic memory for some things, better memory than mine for names, and drove a 115 year old traction engine without anyone else on the footplate last weekend. Eldest son filmed it, so now we have positive evidence. He used to have a long term advocate, but as Friday was the only day M could see him, and Friday was the advocates day off, that didnāt work! I want M to have someone other than me to get to know him well, so that when I die there will be someone other than paid staff to stick up for him. As weād been at a show last week, I suggested they took him out for a good meal. Thereās a good pub less than a mile away. Instead they drove 20 miles away to IKEA for meatballs. Not quite what I envisaged!!
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Thanks for the feedback @Victoria_1806, thatās helpful, we have included a link to the report.
The self advocacy guide might be helpful @Victoria_1806 and @bowlingbun
Hampshire just ignore the Care Act their own policies, and even Ombudsman recommendations!