Have you left hospital during COVID-19? Tell us your experience
During the coronavirus pandemic the usual processes hospitals follow to discharge you from their care changed to help free up beds. Because of this, if you’ve been in hospital recently you should have:
- been discharged within two hours, once you no longer need hospital care
- had your care and support needs assessed once you have left hospital
- been moved to the first available bed in a care home, if you cannot go home
- had any further care or support you need fully funded by the NHS
While these changes have successfully got people out of hospital and helped the NHS manage the demand created by coronavirus, we don’t know how the new processes are working for both patients, their families and healthcare professionals.
If you or your loved one is currently in hospital, find out what you should expect when being discharged in our advice and information article about leaving hospital.
Why should you share your experiences of care?
NHS and social care staff are doing everything they can to support people through this pandemic, but they need your help to spot issues to make sure everyone receives good care.
We’re working with the British Red Cross to listen to your experiences of leaving hospital, so we can help the NHS and social care services understand how the changes brought in during COVID-19 are affecting people’s health and wellbeing - both positively and negatively.
This is why we launched our campaign #BecauseWeAllCare, to encourage everyone to support the NHS recover by providing feedback about health services.
Tell us your views
Take ten minutes to tell us what happened when you or your loved one was discharged from hospital to improve care for everyone. You can also play your part in supporting the NHS to get back on track by sharing our survey with your friends, neighbours and networks.
- Take our survey [https://www.healthwatch.co.uk/tell-us-about-your-experience-leaving-hospital-during-covid-19-pandemic]
Want to talk to someone about your experiences? We can provide you with advice and information about local health and care services.
