West Yorkshire carers hospital discharge toolkit
Please make sure that the accompanying resources (poster and leaflet) are displayed in public areas and wards to encourage people to self-identify as carers. Digital copies of these including leaflets translated into different languages are available on the information for carers section.
Introduction to the West Yorkshire carers hospital discharge toolkit
NHS West Yorkshire Integrated Care Board (ICB)’s unpaid carers programme has produced this carers hospital discharge toolkit to support NHS trusts to carry out their statutory duty to involve unpaid carers in discharge pathways and to improve unpaid carers’ experiences of discharge through increased identification, support, signposting, and referral.
This toolkit and accompanying resources provide practical guidance for implementing the hospital discharge and community support guidance and information for integrated care systems on virtual wards when it comes to supporting unpaid carers. This toolkit is intended for all areas of discharge including acute hospitals, mental health hospitals, and virtual wards. Although the term hospital is used throughout the toolkit, the principles in each step are adaptable for virtual wards.
Many of the practical steps described in this toolkit sit within a wider context of a ‘carer friendly hospital’ approach and should not be viewed in isolation.
The toolkit has been coproduced with NHS colleagues, voluntary sector carer organisations and people with lived experience, including those from ethnically diverse backgrounds and young carers.
Our West Yorkshire toolkit is based on the London Carers and Hospital Discharge Toolkit, adapted with their permission. We thank them and all those who have contributed to the development of this toolkit and accompanying resources.
Who is considered a carer?
A carer can be anyone who provides unpaid care or support to family or friends who have a disability, illness (physical and / or mental), or who need support in later life due to frailty, and cannot manage without this support. Carers can be adults or children of any age who are family (including parent carers) and friends.
The carers pathway
This toolkit describes the five steps that should be followed to ensure carers are embedded within discharge pathways. In West Yorkshire we believe these should be:
- Welcome and recognition
- Identification
- Assessment and support
- Involvement
- Transition
Benefits of involving carers in discharge pathways
The triangle of care is the partnership between professionals, the patient and their
carers. It is important carers are recognised as experts in their own right and involved early on in discussions to benefit the patient and all professionals involved.
Identifying and effectively involving carers early on in discharge planning can help:
Avoid readmissions and additional use of services such as ambulances as carers feel more prepared to support the person they are caring for post-discharge.
Prevent additional requirement for social care and hospital beds: when carers are involved early on in discharge plans, expectations are clear about the patient’s care needs and how these can be met by the carer(s) post-discharge.
Reduce additional use of primary care appointments: when carers are kept updated about changes such as to medication or the health condition of the person they care for, it is more likely carers will feel confident to manage these changes themselves after discharge and less likely to need input from primary care.