Working Together to Improve Hospital Discharge
Leaving hospital is a big moment in someone’s recovery, but people told us that it's not always straightforward.
Between June 2024 - April 2025, we worked alongside the Joined Up Care Derbyshire's Discharge Improvement Team to take a closer look at people's experiences of leaving hospital, and how stories from real people could drive improvements for others across Derbyshire.
Throughout the project we spoke to over 100 people about their experiences of leaving hospital. This included not only patients, but carers, family members, local voluntary groups, patient participation groups, doctors, nurses and care staff to hear their views on hospital discharge and what could be improved.
Explore our resources:
Pam’s Story - From Hospital to Home comic
Meet Pam, a fictional character created using real feedback! Pam's story takes you through the journey from her fall, through two hospitals, and finally back to her much-missed Dog, Fred.
Pam’s experience reflects what many people told us about their stay in hospital, and the impact this can have.
Move to Improve information sheet
Long periods of sitting or lying in a bed in hospital can weaken muscles and cause other issues, such as with circulation. This can lead to people being at risk of being re-admitted to hospital, and not being as active when they return home.
Our Move to Improve sheet gives simple, safe movements people can do in bed or a chair to help keep their muscles active. This will be shared with people in hospital to help them in their recovery.
Working Together guide
When people who use services help shape them, we can spot what’s working and what’s not. This leads to clearer information and better support for everyone.
Our Working Together guide is a simple tool to help professionals, patients, carers, and community groups work together more effectively. It sets out clear, practical steps for involving people in service improvements, making sure their voices help shape how discharge is planned and delivered.
Joining Up for Hospital Discharge report
Our report pulls together all the experiences and insights we gathered. It highlights what’s working well, and where there are opportunities to improve. Key themes we found include:
- Unclear communication and information - given in ways people couldn't always understand, or not at the right time
- Delays caused by poor coordination between services
- Gaps in support for carers and people with additional needs
- Missed opportunities to help people stay active and independent
- Services didn’t always gather feedback from all communities, which makes it harder to understand and meet different needs.
Next steps
To continue the work to improve hospital discharge, Joined Up Care Derbyshire is continuing to ask for feedback from people about their experiences. A short survey will be made available to patients, their carers, and their families to share their views when being discharged from hospital. All responses will help shape ongoing improvements to hospital discharge services across Derbyshire.
Alongside the resources above, patients, their families, and carers will also be provided with a Discharge Information Pack, so they have all the information they need to make decisions about their care.
The resources created are being shared with health and care staff teams. This will help to show what people have said matters most to them, and contribute to positive changes across the system
Share Your Thoughts
We'd love to hear from you. If you’ve had a recent hospital stay or supported someone who has, share your experience with us - Have Your Say.
