Survey into experiences of hospital discharge
Healthwatch East Sussex, the local independent health and care watchdog, today launches a new survey to capture the direct experiences of people who have been discharged from hospital between December 2020 and March 2021.
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the delivery of health and care services as well as the support available from community organisations, volunteers, friends and family.
One big area of change is hospital stays. Discharged patients may find that the landscape for support schemes and organisations has changed. Identifying how and where assistance can be obtained is different from normal circumstances.
These changes can make it more challenging for people to find the community support they need, but also for hospitals to provide up-to-date signposting and contact information. Similarly, GPs and other health providers are in high demand and there may be extended waiting times to access follow-up and support services.
Responses to the survey will help us learn about people’s experiences of their hospital stay and being discharged during the pandemic. We are particularly interested in information provided at the point of discharge and follow-up actions or next steps scheduled to occur after discharge, such as test results and appointments.
The closing date for completing the survey is midnight on 31st March 2021. The findings will be published on the Healthwatch East Sussex website.
We will share insight provided by the public with health and care providers and decision-makers to inform and improve hospital discharges and publish any changes that health and care providers make in response to what the public say.
The Director of Healthwatch East Sussex, John Routledge says:
“There has never been a more important time for the public to tell us about their experiences of being discharged from hospital. The pandemic has disrupted normal health and care services in a way that we all need to understand better so we can plan for a post pandemic future.”
Our survey can be completed in confidence in the following ways:
- Online: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/HWESHospitalDischargeExperiences2021
- By phone: 0333 101 4007 (lines open Mon-Fri 10am-2pm)
- By post: Freepost RTTT-BYBX-KCEY, Healthwatch East Sussex, Greencoat House, 32 St Leonards Road, Eastbourne, East Sussex, BN21 3UT
Download a paper survey: Click here.
