Discharge Summaries

I am writing in respect of your recent enquiry for information held by
the Trust under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act. The
information you requested is as follows:

The Trust does not hold this data currently but is in the process of
developing systems, in conjunction with primary care services, to
collect and monitor the timeliness and accuracy of discharge summaries.
As such the response given below is based on the work currently being
undertaken.

1. What standards for the timely issue of discharge summaries has the
Trust agreed with local commissioning bodies?
All Discharge letters/summaries (the terms are both used to refer to
the same document which is single transfer of care document now entitled
"Discharge and Care Planning Summary" to more accurately reflect the
purpose of the document) They are used for all patients discharged from
an inpatient ward. The Trust is working towards achieving 100 per cent
within 48 hours of the patients discharge from the our wards.

2. What procedures are in place for monitoring the Trust's compliance
with the above standard?
We are carrying out our own internal monitoring and a baseline will be
established by a PCT audit.

3. The number of discharge summaries issued on time by the Trust so
far in the 08/09 financial year and in any other period for which data
are available.
The Trust undertook a simple audit of discharge summaries in September
2008. A total of 52 discharge letters/summaries (the first communication
with the GP) were reviewed from a sample of notes from patients that had
been discharged over the previous six weeks for admissions of more than
one day and less than 30 days (excluding maternity). Only the most
recent discharge was reviewed. All the patients were discharged with a
form. The audit reported however from this limited sample, 17% of
discharges were missing information required by the GP. The results of
this audit should be interpreted with a high degree of caution due to
the very small sample size.

It was reported that the majority of the initial discharge forms are
timely and concise but the Trust is very inconsistent with the level and
type of forms used.

It is intended to repeat this audit as changes are made, to monitor the
quantitative and qualitative aspects of the discharge process.

4. The number of queries received from GPs or other primary care staff
about the late issue of discharge summaries.
Anecdotally we believe the query is more likely to be about missing or
incomplete information rather than late information. From the audit and
discussions with wards etc we believe the majority of our patients leave
with a form (and it is copied to the GP by post or some times fax)

This information is copyrighted to East Kent Hospitals University NHS
Trust and is for your personal use only. If you wish to use this
information for commercial purposes then, in accordance with the
Regulations on the Re use of Public Sector Information 2005, you must
first ask our permission. Such re use may or may not involve the
granting of a licence and the application of a fee.

If for whatever reason you are unhappy with our response you are
entitled to pursue any dissatisfaction through Louise Riley, Trust
Secretary, at the above address. If you are not content with the
outcome of your complaint, you may apply directly to the Information
Commissioner for a decision. Generally, the ICO cannot make a decision
unless you have exhausted the complaints procedure provided by this
Trust. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at the Information
Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire,
SK9 5AF (e mail [email address])

Yours sincerely

Loraine Keeler
For Freedom of Information Office
East Kent Hospitals University NHS University Trust
Kent and Canterbury Hospital
Ethelbert Road
Canterbury CT1 3NG
Tel No: 01227 766877 Ext 73642
Fax No: 01227 864120
E mail: [East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust request email]

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