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Discharge planning left much to be desired

Posted By Discharge Frustrations

"Discharge planning left much to be desired"

About: Salford Royal / Trauma and orthopaedics Trafford General Hospital / Trauma and orthopaedics

(as a relative),

My relative has recently had bunion surgery at Trafford General Hospital and whilst the overall standard of medical and nursing care was good, the discharge planning left much to be desired.

On discharge she was given a very vague discharge letter that did not specify what procedure she had had, but listed all three possible options. Likewise the letter did not state any follow up outpatient appointment details. When the staff were asked about this we were advised that a letter and a sick note would come in the post.

My relative was also advised to go to Salford Royal for an appliance a couple of days later and when she arrived, they were not expecting her and did not have the appliance that she needed.

I reported the problems with her discharge to the staff on the Ward and they did their best to help us but still no discharge letter, sicknote or appointment has arrived in the post. Today I have had to ring up the Consultants secretary to chase up her outpatient appointments.

In my opinion I think the discharge process really needs to improve.

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Responses

Response from Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust 8 years ago
Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust

Submitted on 14/07/2015 at 14:52
Published on Care Opinion at 16:06

Thank you for your comments, we are sorry to read about your relative’s experiences whilst being discharged from our hospital. As we cannot investigate something such as this on an open forum we would appreciate the chance to look into this further and so would encourage your relative to contact our PALS team on 0161 206 2003 or email them directly on pals@srft.nhs.uk so that we can look into the discharge process further.

Thank you again for taking the time to review our services and we hope that your relative will make contact with PALS. Please may we wish your relative a speedy recovery.

Response from Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 8 years ago
Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Submitted on 24/07/2015 at 15:24
Published on Care Opinion at 15:38

Thank you for taking the time to highlight the areas of concern that your relative experienced on discharge from the Manchester Orthopaedic Centre. I was really sorry to learn of your relative’s experience and that the information given was very vague. We are currently working with Salford Royal Foundation Trust (SRFT) to ensure that all of our patients’ receive the information they need for discharge and are provided with clear details of whom to contact if they have any worries or concerns.. I will ensure that your concerns regarding your relative’s follow up appointment are forwarded to SRFT to address.

It is difficult to respond in full to your concerns without more detail but please be assured that the issues you have detailed have been taken seriously and will be shared at the Manchester Orthopaedic Centre Team meeting on 31st July 2015.

We are grateful to you for being so kind as to mention that the overall standard of medical and nursing care was good.

If you or your relative would like to discuss your concerns in more detail, please do not hesitate to contact our Patient Advice and Liaison Service on 0161 276 8686 or by e-mailing pals@cmft.nhs.uk or contacting the Manchester Orthopaedic Centre Ward Manager on 0161 746 2858.

The Patient Experience Team

Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

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