Hospital Discharge

The Health and Care Act 2022 revoked Schedule 3 of the Care Act (2014) which previously detailed the provisions on the discharge of hospital patients with care and support needs, such as notifications an NHS body must give a local authority to ensure a safe discharge for those with care and support needs, and the period for which an NHS body can seek reimbursement from a local authority where the local authority has not fulfilled its requirements to assess or put in place care and support to meet needs.

Current discharge processes and requirements are outlined in the GOV.UK Hospital Discharge and Community Support Guidance (2024):

Hospital discharge and community support guidance

While parts of the Care Act (2014) relating to Hospital discharge have been revoked, all other aspects of the legislation relating to Adult Social Care remain valid and should be adhered to when assessing and supporting individuals in their discharge from hospital.

The Hospital Discharge and Community Support Guidance sets out how NHS bodies (including commissioning bodies, NHS trusts and NHS foundation trusts) and local authorities can plan and deliver hospital discharge and recovery services from acute and community hospital settings, that are affordable within existing budgets available to NHS commissioners and local authorities. It applies to NHS bodies and local authorities exercising health and adult social care functions in England and should be used to inform local service planning and delivery. This guidance applies in relation to adults being discharged from acute hospitals and community rehabilitation units in England, excluding maternity patients and includes information about the pathways for the discharge to assess model.

The Inappropriate Discharge Form enables concerns relating to unsafe hospital discharges to be reported back to United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust (ULHT) to address issues and improve practices and joint working. 

See: Inappropriate Discharge Form which is available in the Service Specific Procedures section of the Local Resource Library, or in Mosaic.

The council operates a Trusted Assessor Scheme to enable health professionals working in acute hospital settings to provide equipment deemed as essential to safe discharge. The Trusted Assessor Scheme operates across Lincolnshire’s hospitals and some hospitals in neighbouring areas.

The eligibility threshold does not need to be considered by hospital OTs when requesting equipment through the Trusted Assessor Scheme. The LCES Trusted Assessor Operational Procedure provides information and guidance about the scheme. This can be found in the Service Specific Procedures section of the Local Resource Library.

The Council has also commissioned Care Home Trusted Assessors from LinCA to undertake assessments and reassessments on behalf of care homes to support timely and safe discharges. They work with the MDT and the individual to ensure information shared is accurate and complete.