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Original papers: Irfan Hanif and Bhupendra Rathod Delays in discharging elderly psychiatric in-patients Psychiatr Bull 2008; 32: 211-213 [Abstract] [Full text] [PDF]

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Delayed Discharges in Old Age Psychiatry

David C Tullett   (26 June 2008)

Delayed Discharges

Abigail J Trowbridge, Prashanti Veeramachaneni   (26 June 2008)

Delayed Discharges in Old Age Psychiatry 26 June 2008
David C Tullett, Old age psychiatrist Send letter to journal: Re: Delayed Discharges in Old Age Psychiatry david.tullett{at}southessex-trust.nhs.uk David C Tullett	Dear Sir Hanif et al (Psychiatic Bulletin, June 2008, 32, 211-3) describe the problems with delayed discharges which many elderly psychiatric wards are currently experiencing. It is interesting to note that mental health patients were initially included in the Community Care Act 2003. They were only excluded in a late House of Lords amendment after lobbying by mental health groups, particularly MIND. As with 'New Ways of Working', we reap what we sow. Dr David Tullett Consultant Old Age Psychiatrist Rochford Hospital, Union Lane, Rochford, Essex, david.tullett@southessex-trust.nhs.uk
Delayed Discharges 26 June 2008
Abigail J Trowbridge, ST1 Psychiatry Mersey Care NHS Trust, Prashanti Veeramachaneni Send letter to journal: Re: Delayed Discharges abigailtrowbridge{at}yahoo.co.uk Abigail J Trowbridge, et al.	We read the article by Hanif et al (Psychiatric Bulletin, June 2008, 32, 211-218) regarding delayed discharges with interest. At Mersey Care NHS Trust we are concerned about the proportion of Older People’s Mental Health beds that are blocked due to delayed discharges. Between 1st April 2007 and 31st March 2008, there were 143 delayed discharges(48% of the trust total) with a mean length of 55 days. Therefore, 7865 ‘bed days’ were used by patients who no longer needed to be in hospital. The total cost of these delayed discharges was almost £2.1 million (£265 per day). The total number of inpatient days (April 2007-February 2008) was 28132, almost a third (28%) of which resulted from delayed discharges. As the average length of inpatient stay was 57.2 days, the beds that were blocked by delayed discharges could have been used for 137 admissions. Most (70.6%) of these delayed discharges were due to social reasons, such as waiting for a place in a care home. It would probably be a more efficient use of resources if the money currently spent on delayed discharges was used to facilitate prompt discharges and appropriate aftercare arrangements.