Nottingham and Nottinghamshire ICB
“People were very nice and the care was exemplary. But I am looking forward to being back in my own home with my family and sleeping in my own bed.” *Marion Fisk, patient at King’s Mill Hospital.
The NHS is urging local people to do all they can to help their relatives, friends and neighbours leave hospital in time for Christmas.
Health and care organisations have been working together to improve the level of ‘wrap around’ rehabilitation care that people may need when they leave hospital this winter. This is helping more people go straight home from hospital rather than into another setting such as a care home.
Despite this drive to help get people home more quickly, there can sometimes be delays due to other issues. There are a number of ways that family members, friends and neighbours can help their loved one get home:
Maria Principe, Interim Executive Director of Commissioning, at NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire, said: “We want people to be able to return home, or to another suitable care setting, as soon as they are medically fit. This is much better for their recovery, both physically and mentally.
“Our multi-disciplinary teams in hospitals continuously assess people to find out when they are ready to go home and help get the right services in place to support them. But often something as simple as a wait for transport or a missing house key can create a delay. We’re urging people to do everything they can to help their loved ones get home in time for Christmas.”
Nav Bhandal, Deputy Medical Director at NUH, said: “Winter is always a difficult period where pressures increase due to viruses and bugs, like flu and norovirus. This winter we are seeing a significantly high number of flu patients and we are doing all we can to mitigate the impact on both our patients and our staff.
“We are increasing capacity in our Same Day Emergency Care Unit, opening new wards and increasing the use of our virtual wards to free up space and improve flow through our hospitals. We are also working closely with our partners at the Nottingham Emergency Medical Services (NEMS) to support flow out of our A&E – getting patients seen quicker and allowing A&E staff to focus on those needing emergency care.
“We are also acutely aware of the impact that delayed ambulance handovers can have on those patients waiting for care in the community. That’s why we have worked with EMAS to make changes to handovers, getting patients into A&E within 30 minutes and ambulance crews back out into the community withing 45.
“Our staff are working incredibly hard to support patients, to care for them, to treat them and to get them home as soon as they possible can. I want to say thank you to each and every one of them for the work they have done so far this winter and for those who are working throughout the festive period.”
Simon Illingworth, Chief Operating Officer at Sherwood Forest Hospitals said: “The sooner we can get our patients ready and home the better it is for them and their families. Early planning for discharge is critical and this should start on the day of admission.
“Once the day comes, we should refer patients to our Discharge Lounge to help those patients who are waiting in A&E for a bed.
“People do not want to be in hospital at Christmas but should be in their home with their family around them and relatives have a big part to play in getting patients home.
“Transferring patients who are well enough to go home to our purpose-built Discharge Lounge also helps us to reduce waiting times for those patients who need to be admitted and to make every bed count when the hospital is busy.”
Find out more about being discharged from hospital https://notts.icb.nhs.uk/your-health/discharge-from-hospital/
*Marion Fisk, 81 from Kirkby in Ashfield was admitted to King’s Mill Hospital on 4 December after suffering a stroke at home. Marion had her stroke while on the phone to her grandson Sean but fortunately that meant he could be there for her every step of the way as she waited for the ambulance to transfer her to hospital, also alerting his mum Janice (Marion’s daughter) to her mum’s plight.
After 10 days recovering in hospital, Marion was declared fit enough to return home and was transferred to the Discharge Lounge at King’s Mill. This purpose-built area opened in 2024, specifically to accommodate patients who are ready to be discharged to help them prepare for return to the place they call home and also allow beds to be made available quicker for patients to be admitted, so easing patient flow in the hospital.
Helping to arrange her return – liaising with partners from social services to arrange modifications needed to her home and arriving to collect Marion, her family were once again by her side, making sure everything was in order for her return.
Marion had this to say about her stay on ward 54 at King’ Mill Hospital: “People were very nice and the care was exemplary. But I am looking forward to being back in my own home with my family and sleeping in my own bed.”
