This next in our series of blogs on the NHS White Paper we focus on the new proposals around discharging patients.
The Government state (under theme four: Social care) that they will bring forward measures to update approaches to hospital discharge to help facilitate smooth discharge, by putting in place a legal framework for a ‘Discharge to Assess’ model, whereby NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC) and NHS Funded Nursing Care (FNC) assessments, and Care Act assessments, can take place after an individual has been discharged from acute care. This will replace the existing legal requirement for all assessments to take place prior to discharge.
As a requirement to assess prior to discharge is removed, the system of discharge notices, and associated financial penalties, will no longer be required so will also be removed by this legislation.
Effectively this change is to help to embed good practice guidelines which have been followed over the past few years.
We are told that this will not change the thresholds of eligibility for CHC or support through the Care Act or increase financial burdens on local authorities.
You can read our earlier blog on service reconfigurations here.
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