When discharge goes wrong, it comes at significant cost, both to individuals and to the health and social care system.
Whilst the financial cost of this problem is recognised, not enough is known about the human cost. We undertook this inquiry to bring the true emotional and physical impact of this persisting problem to light. With the help of 101 local Healthwatch, we heard from over 3,000 people who shared their stories with us about their experiences of the discharge process.
Throughout this inquiry, we focused on the experiences of older people, homeless people, and people with mental health conditions – three groups for whom the consequences of a failed discharge process were particularly detrimental. Hear about their experiences, as reported on Channel 4.
We found that there are five core reasons people feel their departure was not handled properly.
A big thank you to all those on our Special Inquiry team and advisory panel and to all the other organisations that contributed. For more information, click here