Expediting Hospital Discharge

When a patient no longer needs care in the hospital, delaying discharge can negatively impact their recovery, while increasing their risk of hospital acquired infection.

Delayed discharge has impacted on NHS capacity for many years, but the COVID-19 pandemic has meant the timely discharge of patients is more important then ever, not just during the pandemic itself, but afterwards as the NHS tries to address the resulting backlog in service delivery.

Technology can provide a means of discharging patients as quickly as possible without compromising safety, by monitoring their health and wellbeing remotely, and giving patients the means to quickly access help in an emergency.

How it works

Tunstall offers a range of solutions to enable the clinical monitoring and management of patients at discharge, providing patients and their families with reassurance and support.

Remote Patient Monitoring and Management

• Tunstall’s RPM telehealth platform allows a patient’s health to continue to be monitored whilst the patient is at home
• Clinicians can review the data captured by discharged patients and take action, if and when its needed

Technology Enabled Care

• Gives patients 24/7 reassurance by providing the means to get help in an emergency
• Can automatically raise an alert in case of an event such as a fall or fire
• Mobile personal help devices can also be used to provide support when away from home
• Systems are linked to a specialist response centre, where trained operators will ensure the appropriate help is provided

Dedicated funding

• A short term hospital discharge fund has been introduced to support post-discharge recovery for up to six weeks per patient.
• Since September 2020 a discharge to assess model has been recommended in England, with funding available to support post-discharge recovery for up to six weeks per patient.
• CCGs and Commissioners have been asked to expand the use of telecare and telehealth where possible to support this.

Benefits for all

Patient outcomes

• Improved recovery experience in the comfort of home, with the added reassurance of clinical monitoring and TEC
• Reduced exacerbations, fewer A&E visits, hospital admissions/readmissions, visits to clinic
• Improved self management, condition awareness, medication compliance
• Up to 45% improvement in mortality rate

Operational efficiency

• By efficiently releasing beds, more patients can receive hospital treatment
• Reduced risk of hospital acquired infection and readmission
• Fewer face to face appointments, shorter admissions
• Earlier intervention prevents more complex care
• Reduced travel time of community teams

Economic

• Discharging efficiently reducing LOS, saving cost of bed days
• Rapid reactions to exacerbations of events such as falls prevents expensive hospital care
• Technology can help to delay/prevent the need for a higher cost care package
• Hospital discharge fund available in addition to existing budgets

Tunstall Healthcare

Tunstall has been at the forefront of technology innovation for the health, housing and social care markets for over 60 years. Its pioneering software, hardware and services enable new delivery models which can transform services across the care continuum, and empower people to live independently and with an improved quality of life.

Tunstall works with social care providers, healthcare services, housing and retirement living providers and charities in 22 countries, improving the lives of more than five million people, including those living with dementia, learning disabilities, physical disabilities and long-term health conditions.

Tunstall’s innovation-led, person-centred Connected Care and Health solutions connect people and integrate services, enabling early intervention to avoid or mitigate adverse events, and improve outcomes. As technology advances, we have the capability to not just react to events, but to predict and even prevent them, using data-driven insights. The Tunstall Cognitive Care approach can help to create intelligent, personalised care programmes and effectively allocate resources, making sure those in need have the right levels of support and reassurance.