NHS England, DH, ADASS, LGA and ECIST colleagues have been working collaboratively to refresh the Monthly Delayed Transfer of Care Situation Reports: Definitions and Guidance. The work on refreshing the DToC guidance was identified and commissioned earlier in the year in response to a number of ongoing operational issues and concerns from local health and social care systems.
The refreshed guidance on definitions, counting and reporting is seeking to remove ambiguity and improve operational clarity, with the aim of improving partnership working and reducing disputes. The guidance now places more emphasis on local collaborative solutions to any barriers first as part of a wider picture of joint and integrated working (which is embedded in the Care Act). The multi-agency group that has been refreshing the guidance has also pulled together a series of good practice examples from systems from around the country. All of the products were consulted and tested with a sample of local systems