Summary of the discussion held on 9 August 2023

Volunteer support for hospital discharge

Some organisations are still in recovery from Covid when volunteer numbers were rapidly reduced and are still trying to recruit or bring back volunteers who were ‘stood down’. A lot of staff would like volunteers back, but it was also felt that this was also an opportunity to expand on the volunteer roles.

During Covid a number of organisations put together hubs of volunteers who were available to pick up prescriptions, take/pick up equipment to people’s homes. One organisation has expanded on this and they now have volunteers who are happy to go into the homes of people who don’t need a complete care package; doing practical things like making a sandwich, doing the garden, taking the dog for a walk.

Wellbeing Support volunteers/befrienders is a popular role within hospices where the volunteer will make friends with a patient and stay with them through much of their journey. This may include providing respite for the carer which in turn helps with readmissions to the hospice until it is necessary. Volunteers are trained to pick up signs and be able to report back to the hospice if the patient is reaching a crisis point.

Elements to discharge. “Planning starts on admission for discharge”

Physio guided exercises with patients to stop deconditioning before they return home.

Take a look at the Rehab Legend role information created by University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust in our Volunteer Role Library

Mealtime support, making sure that patients aren't missing meals which could mean delayed or failed discharge.
Office-based roles where volunteers support with key communications within the system and with the services and the patients, so they are aware of discharge support.
Discharge lounge volunteers. Befrienders talk to the patients while they are waiting, maybe over a cup of tea, get their prescriptions, help them to pack their bag or help them organise transport home.
Post discharge – volunteers keeping in touch with well-being phone calls. Falls prevention to help stop readmissions.
Settling in – volunteers making sure that the patient's home is clean and safe, and that they have everything that they need.

A selection of role descriptions for discharge and settling in can also be found in our Volunteer Role Library

“For me discharge is as long as a piece of string. You can cut it and slice it in different ways and there's always room for development”.

ONGOING PROJECTS

Before surgery

There are a number of projects supporting people before admission. One is called ‘Shape up for surgery’ and the team would like to dovetail this project into the discharge process to get the patient home as quickly as possible. This could link in with the community sector to ensure that the patient gets all the support they need to avoid hospital readmission.

Goodwill Driver Service

If medication is not available on discharge, to prevent delays the service will deliver medication to the patient’s home.

Working with community and national organisations

Community volunteers often work in partnership with organisations like Age UK where they can find support for more practical elements and could include:

Seven day a week support
Shopping
Prescriptions
Welfare
Meal preparation

There may be a blend of paid workers and volunteers which allows them to be more agile and responsive.

One organisation will go into people’s homes before the patient is discharged to move furniture, check that the heating is on and do a general assessment of the home to make sure that it is safe.

There are often more complex cases where people cannot go home due to housing and environmental reasons. In some areas there are one-off personal grants available to enable someone to be discharged. This can be used for a household item or a house clean.

Linking the Emergency Department with Discharge volunteers

This is something that is under consideration for one organisation. Looking at pathways out of ED where there is not a clinical reason for a patient to be admitted, where they can be supported by a community to go home.

Praise from staff

A volunteer department at a Trust has received several emails from hospital staff praising individual volunteers by name for the wonderful work they are doing and referring to them as “part of the team”. This praise has meant a lot to the volunteers and has built up morale.

Useful info:

UCAN – community service in Hertfordshire Supported Hospital Discharge Scheme - Uttlesford Community Action Network (ucan.org.uk)

For more information on setting up a service go to Our Service Guides where you will more information on Mealtime Service, Falls Prevention, Discharge support, Active Response and much more.

If anyone is looking for an easy way to gather data and present it in a way that helps you make a business case for more support, please take a look at our Insight & Impact service here: https://helpforce.community/iandi/landing-page