THE QUALITY OF HOSPITAL DISCHARGE - A SURVEY OF DISCHARGE ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE OVER-65S

A three-phase study comprising semistructured interviews with patients and/or their carers, follow-up postal questionnaires, and a postal su rvey of the views of professionals involved in the discharge of partic ipating patients was conducted to assess the quality of arrangements f or patients over 65 years of age, discharged from hospitals in Chester and Ellesmere Port in the United Kingdom, A large majority of patient s (80%) felt they had been adequately consulted about arrangements for their discharge, but less than 2% of health and social care professio nals considered all discharges satisfactory, This apparent disparity b etween patient and professional views may be explained by low levels o f expectation among patients in this aspect of their care and their re luctance to express views which they fear may compromise future care, Continuing difficulties with interprofessional communication and liais on suggest that further attention to discharge management is required if improvements are to be effected. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Scienc e Ltd.