Preventing an Unsafe Hospital Discharge for an Elderly Parent

The Situation

The client's mother, in her early 80s, had been admitted after a fall resulting in a hip fracture. Surgery was successful, but within four days the hospital was pushing for discharge. The family was told a care package would be arranged. but no specifics were provided.

The daughter noticed her mother couldn't stand unaided, was confused about her new medications, and the ground-floor bathroom at home hadn't been assessed. She felt the discharge was premature but didn't know how to challenge it.

What We Did

We reviewed the discharge plan against NICE guidelines for post-hip-fracture care. The plan fell short on three counts: no formal physiotherapy referral, no occupational therapy home assessment, and medications from three different prescribers hadn't been reconciled.

We helped the family request a formal discharge planning meeting, attended alongside them, and prepared a summary of the specific clinical guidelines they asked the hospital to address before discharge went ahead.

We also helped the family arrange an independent medication review with a pharmacist, which flagged two significant drug interactions for the hospital team to reconcile.

What Changed

Discharge was delayed by five days. In that time, a physiotherapy programme was initiated in hospital, an occupational therapist assessed the home and recommended modifications, and the medication issues were resolved.

All case studies are anonymised composites based on real scenarios. Details changed to protect confidentiality. Individual outcomes vary.