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simply changes could free up beds

Story from nhs.uk

"simply changes could free up beds"

About: University Hospital (Coventry) / Accident and emergency

My mother in law was told at 11.30 am today she would be discharged as soon as her medications were received from the pharmacy.

Now, at 6pm, she is still waiting.

On checking with the ward staff we understand that the pharmacy round deals with all 1,400 patients in sequence with no prioritisation given to patients actually leaving the hospital today. This means that many, many beds are being blocked for hours more than they need to be. The blockage is apparently worse on Sundays because there is a staff shortage.

This is not an isolated occurrence. We have noted over the years that there are always substantial delays in getting medications before discharge are virtually endemic. This is not only stressful for patients trying to arrange to be collected etc, but most inefficient for bed management. Surely it would not be beyond the wit of man to devise a more efficient system, eg, prioritise patients who are being discharged the same day.

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Responses

Response from University Hospital (Coventry) 7 years ago
University Hospital (Coventry)

Submitted on 03/03/2017 at 16:59
Published on nhs.uk on 04/03/2017 at 02:38

Thank you for taking the time to provide feedback on your mother-in-law’s experience at University Hospital, Coventry in February 2017.

We are sorry to hear that she experienced a delay in her discharge. I have passed your concerns on to the Deputy Director of Pharmacy who said: “The department aims to turn around discharge prescriptions from the wards for admitted patients within two hours of receipt. As part of this, we prioritise discharge prescriptions for both the planned times of the discharge as well as for the day on which discharged. There are a number of porter runs throughout the day, including Sundays, to expedite the delivery of these medicines to all wards. Additionally, each ward can view in real-time the state of dispensing of their discharge prescriptions from our Pharmacy tracker and, if needed, collect these in person when ready rather than waiting for a porter.”

If you would like to discuss aspects of your care further then please contact the Trust’s Patient Advice and Liaison Service on 0800 028 4203.

If you would prefer to contact us by e-mail, our address is feedback@uhcw.nhs.uk

Alternatively, you can write to us at the following address: -

PALS

University Hospital

Clifford Bridge Road

Coventry

CV2 2DX

If you do decide to contact us, please make us aware that you have left comments on the NHS Choices website.

The Trust is grateful for all feedback, positive or negative, as it means we can better understand what is important to our patients.

Thank you for leaving your comments on NHS Choices.

Communications Team

University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust

Telephone 0800 028 4203

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