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Medequip
Medequip
Supporting individuals being discharged from hospital and into their own homes is one of the most important functions of any Community Equipment Service. Medequip is proud to play a part in this, successfully supporting over 100,000 discharges each year from NHS hospitals across the country.
Facilitating hospital discharges makes a vital contribution to the NHS and to the health of individual patients. The Health Foundation www.health.org.uk states that “Patients who stay in hospital when they are ready to be discharged are at higher risk of hospital-acquired infections and of losing mobility and independence. Delays in discharging patients also impact on the availability of hospital beds, leading to delays in ambulance handovers and in admitting patients from A&E.”
The Urgent and emergency care recovery plan published on 30 January 2023 has resulted in the accurate availability of statistics based around the time from a patient’s discharge-ready date to their actual date of discharge. At 30 June 2024, across England (Type 1 Trusts) there were 12,266 patients remaining in hospital who “no longer meet the criteria to reside”. This illustrates the importance of the work carried out every day by Medequip.
There are many and complex causes for delayed hospital discharges, ranging from patients waiting for social care services through to the wider pressures on the health and social care system, with hospital bed occupancy increasing to above 95% among adult general and acute beds – well above recommended levels.
It is therefore vital to ensure that where equipment availability could be the limiting factor, this can be delivered quickly and efficiently to meet prescribers’ requirements. Combining high levels of stock availability with the systems in place to provide same-day delivery, Medequip continues to play a significant role in freeing up hospital beds for acute cases.