HEALTHWATCH: New plans to monitor hospital readmissions

Do you take medication regularly to manage a condition that you have? Do you have items on repeat prescription?

At the end of last year, research by Healthwatch England identified a significant spike in people having to return to hospital for unplanned further treatment within 30 days of being discharged.

The rising figures have prompted some concern that that hospitals might be discharging some patients too soon possible because staff are too busy and having to deal with patients that do not need to be in hospital.

It is important to remember that not every emergency readmission can or should be avoided. New approaches to care mean services sometimes plan more but shorter hospital stays for some people.

The issue of emergency readmissions across the country is not a new one. Over the last three years readmissions have continued to be a strong theme in the feedback Healthwatch England hear.

People have told us how distressing the process

NHS gears up for more junior doctors strikes over pay and conditions from Saturday

From the campaign trail: What kind of new hospital do you want?

of repeatedly going in and out of hospital can be and the impact it can have on someone’s health and well-being.

We also found that people with the most complex or acute needs are often the worst affected, including older people and people receiving end of life care.

Data

The lack of official data collected by the NHS has made it difficult to build a comprehensive picture of who is being affected and why they are coming back in to hospital. However, NHS Digital, the national information and technology partner, responded to the Healthwatch call to monitor emergency readmission rates and investigate the reasons why people return to hospital just 30 days after they have been discharged.

Only with access to good data can hospitals be certain they are doing everything they can to minimise preventable readmissions.

This is of particular importance in areas where they are trialling new ways of treating people to ensure the impact on patients is tracked effectively and any lessons learned can be shared with other hospitals.

Sir Robert Francis, Healthwatch England Chair, said: “While people often give glowing feedback about their experiences of hospital care, they are far less positive about their experience of the discharge process, with avoidable return trips to hospital a common theme.

“Whilst not all emergency readmissions can or should be prevented, they can cause significant distress for patients and families and so it’s vital that the NHS avoids them where possible.

“The announcement by NHS Digital therefore marks an important step, arming hospitals and community services with the data they need to identify and address the issue. It also highlights how Healthwatch’s commitment to ensuring people’s experiences of care are understood by policy makers is helping both patients and the NHS.”