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.
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 requested a formal discharge planning meeting, attended alongside the family, and presented the specific clinical guidelines the hospital needed to meet before discharge could safely proceed.
We also arranged an independent medication review, which identified two significant drug interactions that the hospital pharmacist had missed in the rush.
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.
The patient recovered well at home with structured physiotherapy support. Six months later, she was walking independently. an outcome significantly less likely had the original premature discharge gone ahead.
All case studies are anonymised composites based on real scenarios. Details changed to protect confidentiality. Individual outcomes vary.
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