Waiting for medicines remains most common cause of discharge delays
Waiting for medicines is still the most common reason for delays in discharging patients from hospital. This is according to the latest inpatient
survey (2006), from the Healthcare Commission, carried out by the Picker Institute in over 167 acute and specialist NHS trusts in England.
Medicines were a factor in 61 per cent of cases where patients had to
wait to leave hospital, a similar figure to that reported in the previous
year (2005).
The survey also revealed that only 37 per cent of patients were told “completely” about
the side effects of their medicines on discharge (compared with 40 per
cent in 2005). A further 19 per cent were informed “to some extent”.
In addition, fewer hospital patients were told “completely” about
their medicines in a way they could understand (76 per cent) compared
with 2002 (79 per cent) but more were given clear written or printed
information (65 per cent in 2006 compared with 62 per cent in 2005).
The survey, which included information about many aspects of patient
care, showed that there have been improvements in cleanliness, hand washing
and the time waited for planned admissions. Overall, 90 per cent of patients
rated their stay in hospital as good or excellent.
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Hospital
Pharmacist