Volunteer support for patients on discharge pathways

There are many opportunities for volunteers to support patients on discharge pathways and these include

• Enhanced Ward support roles - offering extra support to patients getting ready for discharge/supporting on day of discharge

• Discharge Lounge volunteers

• Discharge Patient ‘check in’ phone calls to patients on returning home from hospital - 24/48 hours following hospital discharge/follow up calls 2 weeks later

• Patient transport - volunteers taking patients home

• Support at home - from VSCE sector services community based volunteers - linked to hospital

Volunteer Roles discussed

• A new role is being piloted based in an acute setting on a stroke ward. The volunteers role will be to prepare people to access community services and use apps for self management.

• Volunteers supporting carers. In particular new carers to make sure that they have the right support and manage their expectations. Carers often do not have a realistic view of what to expect once the patient is home.

• Transport volunteers can really help with the discharge process however, insurance can be a stumbling block.

• Going home bags containing basic essentials are proving popular - dietary requirements need to be considered. One trust is compiling a list of local support services to include with the going home bag.

• Volunteer phone calls for 5 days post discharge to make sure that they’ve got the shopping in and that they are feeling okay.

• What happens when the patient being called says they are not okay?

Kingston has a clear procedure. There are 3 levels:

• Low level risk - call volunteering service

• Medium level risk - alert statutory organisation

• High level risk - immediate danger - call 999

They also have a paid coordinator so if something is complex they are able to step in.

Laura has shared her document which you can find in our resources here.

• Volunteer group dealing with life skills like money management and digital skills.

• Wellbeing Collaborative - helping people to get home from hospital and avoiding readmission by connecting with other support groups.

Issues discussed

• Some have lost a lot of volunteers and are having difficulty getting them back.

• Engagement with clinical staff is a struggle for many volunteering teams, especially as volunteers have not been present on wards throughout the pandemic.

• Keeping discharge volunteers busy as there are not always enough patients requiring discharge assistance.

• Asking pointed questions before discharge can open up many issues that a patient may have and would have otherwise been missed.

• There are a lot of these services already out there so you need to be careful not to duplicate, wasting money and volunteer time. A good use of the volunteer would be to have them signposting on to these services.

• It has been noticed that there is poor planning for over 80s women who need more focused care and support

• Some volunteer managers commented that transporting patients home following discharge carries too much risk for the role of a volunteer.

• It would be useful to have evidence / guidance to ensure that patients’ needs are covered when they return home - the Patient Experience Team or PALS team may be able to help with this.