Discharge planning and processes Inadequacies in ‘Discharge planning and processes’ were identified in the negative experiences of patients in three studies.47,50,65 ‘Chaos and confusion’ in the discharge process was a common problem, with repetition, duplication and conflicting information often identified.65 Patients who were not consulted in the planning of their discharge said the process was poor. In one study, poor planning resulted in patients being re-admitted within 24 hours of their discharge and hospitalised for a further week.50 Patients described a lack of follow-up care after discharge and a general lack of support from health professionals beyond their immediate procedure.47 System- or service-related factors that contribute to positive or negative experiences. Patients’ experiences were predominantly influenced by the attitudes and behaviours of healthcare staff, which manifested as inviting opportunities for engagement, being respectful and being friendly. Nonetheless, six system- and service-related factors were identified as important and often lacking, contributing to negative experiences. These were: staff resources, equipment and transport resources, a process to ensure coordination of the care between services, interpreters/translation services, pre- and information and an adequate discharge process. The types of system and service factors that influenced positive and negative experiences are shown in . Table 4: System and service factors contributing to patients’ experiences System or service Examples of factors resulting in Examples of factors resulting in factor positive care experiences negative care experiences Staff resources Sufficient staff numbers Qualified not available Appropriate skill mix of staff Staff are not trained in use of Well-trained staff necessary equipment Inappropriate skill mix Lack of staff Equipment and Suitable equipment Lack of equipment transport resources Working equipment Lack of suitable transport Clean equipment Lack of available transport to hospital Appropriate transport available to take patient to hospital Coordination of care Policy to ensure that staff Different methods for recording processes involved in a patient’s care patient information communicate with each other Different storage locations for patient Accurate documentation information in each specialty processes to maintain patient records that are accessible to all involved in their care Translation services Available interpreter Lack of interpreter Interpreters in a range of Bilingual staff not required to use their languages other language
Discharge planning and processes Inadequacies in ‘Discharge planning and processes’ were identified in the negative experiences of patients in three studies.47,50,65 ‘Chaos and confusion’ in the discharge process was a common problem, with repetition, duplication and conflicting information often identified.65 Patients who were not consulted in the planning of their discharge said the process was poor. In one study, poor planning resulted in patients being re-admitted within 24 hours of their discharge and hospitalised for a further week.50 Patients described a lack of follow-up care after discharge and a general lack of support from health professionals beyond their immediate procedure.47 System- or service-related factors that contribute to positive or negative experiences. Patients’ experiences were predominantly influenced by the attitudes and behaviours of healthcare staff, which manifested as inviting opportunities for engagement, being respectful and being friendly. Nonetheless, six system- and service-related factors were identified as important and often lacking, contributing to negative experiences. These were: staff resources, equipment and transport resources, a process to ensure coordination of the care between services, interpreters/translation services, pre- and information and an adequate discharge process. The types of system and service factors that influenced positive and negative experiences are shown in . Table 4: System and service factors contributing to patients’ experiences System or service factor Examples of factors resulting in positive care experiences Examples of factors resulting in negative care experiences Staff resources Sufficient staff numbers Appropriate skill mix of staff Well-trained staff Qualified not available Staff are not trained in use of necessary equipment Inappropriate skill mix Lack of staff Equipment and transport resources Suitable equipment Working equipment Clean equipment Appropriate transport available to take patient to hospital Lack of equipment Lack of suitable transport Lack of available transport to hospital Coordination of care processes Policy to ensure that staff involved in a patient’s care communicate with each other Accurate documentation processes to maintain patient records that are accessible to all involved in their care Different methods for recording patient information Different storage locations for patient information in each specialty Translation services Available interpreter Interpreters in a range of languages Lack of interpreter Bilingual staff not required to use their other language
Patients-Experiences-in-Australian-Hospitals-Word.docx