Ho ho home for Christmas

Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust wants you ‘Ho ho home for Christmas’.

This year the Trust is seeing unprecedented demand on the care and services provided and is doing all it can to see people discharged and back home in time for Santa’s visit – or as soon as it is clinically safe to do so.

With Covid and seasonal pressures continuing, the Trust is wanting to send a clear message. Berenice Groves, Chief Operating Officer and Deputy Chief Executive, commented: “We always want to ensure that people are only in hospital for as long as they really need to be and this is especially true at this time of year. We’re working closely across the whole system to ensure that when it is clinically safe, patients can be discharged. We know that folks don’t want to spend Christmas in hospital and it means we can ensure others, who need our care, are able to have access to beds and means less delays across the hospital.

“We’re always here for those who really need us but we’re actively encouraging people to ensure they have a discharge plan in place as soon as they are admitted to hospital, where appropriate. This could mean ensuring that friends and family are able to support them a little more when they can return home and any adaptations are made to ensure that any additional needs are catered for.”

The Trust is currently running close to capacity, so they are encouraging patients to go home as soon as they are clinically signed off which is better for them, as well as reaching out to families to support them by either assisting with care in their relative’s home or supporting placements in residential or nursing care facilities.

Berenice added: “Our approach to discharge is simple. As soon as patients are admitted to hospital, we try to identify an estimated date they’ll be discharged. This ensures we all have a goal to work towards as we know nobody wants to be here for longer than is necessary.”

Patients can help by following some easy steps:

• Setting an expected date for when they’ll be able to leave the hospital
• Planning for transport home as soon as possible
• Discussing any aids and adaptations they might need with their care teams
• Ensuring the hospital’s checklist for discharge has been completed including the need for any prescription medicines being picked up