Right place, right time commission on transfers of care Our response to NHS Provider's commission

NHS Providers launched a commission to capture good practice on transfers of care across acute, community, mental health and ambulance services. Led by the former care minister, Paul Burstow, the commission will deliver a report in November 2015 that offers practical approaches, drawing on good practice in health, local government, social care and housing, and supports members to tackle the causes of delayed transfers of care in all settings. 

To inform the commission, the Health Foundation shared three case studies of locally-led improvement. These projects were undertaken by Health Foundation grant holders with the aim of improving processes governing the transfer of care for patients moving from acute to community settings. They offer learning about the process undertaken by three clinical and managerial teams to develop local solutions to locally identified challenges. The projects included:

• an innovative discharge process, tested by Sheffield Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, where patients leave hospital as soon as they are medically fit to have their support needs assessed at home.
• a project led by Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust that aimed to give every patient with dementia a safe, dignified, timely and sustainable discharge.
• a project to improve communication during transfer of care processes for elderly and frail patients at East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust.