Webinar: How to weave volunteer support into Discharge Pathways

We know that delayed discharge is a huge challenge facing the NHS, estimated to cost £900 million every year. We also know that volunteers can help to speed up the discharge process by up to 45 minutes, by making sure people can be in the right place at the right time with the right support. There is a huge potential here for volunteers to do much more to support people and staff throughout the discharge pathway.

Listen to the recording below and hear from leaders in policy, strategy, clinical care and volunteer management to learn about volunteering initiatives across England that are making a fantastic impact on people throughout their discharge pathways.

Our speakers are:

• Sarah Little, Head of Volunteering for Health and Social Care at the DHSC
• Tabitha Brufal, Deputy Director, Hospital Discharge Programme at the DHSC
• Jasmin Shepherd, Senior Policy Advisor, Hospital Discharge Programme at DHSC
• Danielle Whittaker, Integrated Service Manager, Transfer of Care Hub and Intermediate Care at Warrington Teaching Hospitals
• Jordan Johnson, Wellbeing Services and Operations manager at Warrington Voluntary Action
• Mark Lever, CEO at Helpforce

Below is a short video by Warrington Voluntary Action as shown in the webinar.

Useful links

Mental Health Services Monthly Statistics , Performance January 2024 - NHS England Digital - this includes data on mean and median length of stay for those discharged from hospital.

Statistics » Discharge delays (Acute) (england.nhs.uk) - This discharge data can be broken down to regional, system and provider level; participants may wish to use this to inform their investment negotiations with local commissioners.