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:

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.