A new dedicated area is now open at a Norfolk hospital specifically for people waiting to go home.
The Discharge Lounge at Kings Lynn’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital has a larger space.
This means staff can look after up to 150 patients a week instead of the previous 100.
It lets their team safely plan a patient discharge and frees up more beds for those who need immediate hospital care.
Wendy Askew, 76, from Castle Acre was one of the first patients to use it.
Wendy, who had been cared for at The QEH for more than a month, was going to a community care home. She said: “I have used the old discharge lounge when I was here before and this new one is excellent. It is very modern, is much bigger and more comfortable. I have been looked after as well here as if I were still on the ward.”
Paula Fuller, Matron for the Complex Discharge Planning Team, said; “We are really pleased to have moved into this new space which has been designed to ensure patients have a safe and comfortable space to receive care whilst they wait to go onto their next destination outside the acute setting. This new unit will make a real difference to both patients and the staff that work there.
“This unit is not about discharging patients before they are ready to go home, it’s about moving patients who no longer need acute hospital care to a more appropriate setting, whether that’s home or into the community.”
Background
Located in a new modular building, the new unit is easily accessible for transportation used to take patients to where they need to be.
Simon Illingworth, Chief Operating Officer, said: “This area will have a positive impact on flow through our hospital. Every patient who is ready to be discharged that we can get home or into community has a positive impact on other patients waiting for treatment and frees up beds on our wards for people who need acute medical care.”
