Posted on: 7 December 2020
CNWL has come together with local partner organisations to form an Integrated Discharge Team (IDT), with the aim of discharging patients in a safe and timely way.
The IDT brings CNWL staff together with colleagues from the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, North Central London clinical commissioning group (CCG) and the London Borough of Camden.
They will be united as one team, with a shared responsibility for all discharges and a shared aim of helping to get patients back to their homes.
The new IDT works with a ‘home first’ principle. This means that patients should be supported to return home in the first instance, with other options explored only when necessary.
Natasha Harmsworth-Blyth, Operational Lead at Central and North West London Foundation Trust said: “The IDT has already displayed some great joined up working, which has improved and streamlined patient discharges. We feel like we are working as one team and there's a shared responsibility across the IDT to ensure the patient doesn't remain in hospital for any longer than they need to.“
Caroline Cahill, Discharge Matron and Project Lead for the Royal Free Hospital, explained:
“It’s really important that we work together to get patients back home if we’re able to. We know that being discharged quickly is important for patients’ wellbeing, and part of our role as clinical care professionals is to support that.
“It also allows us to maintain a healthy flow through our hospitals. Discharging patients quickly when it is appropriate to do so ensures that there is more bed capacity, ready for those who need it.”
This is a transformational change, bringing together a multi-disciplinary team from across different specialities and organisations. Caroline added: “This new integrated working is already helping us to improve our processes, which means that patients are able to return to their communities faster. Ultimately, we have all come together with one shared goal: to maximise the health and wellbeing of our patients.”
