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What's new in delayed discharge

  • Last modified date:
    27 June 2007

A month-by-month list of new information and links

December 2006

February 2005

Guidance released highlighting the arrangements for payment of the Access and Systems Capacity Grant 2005/06 and the Delayed Discharges Grant 2005/06. Gateway reference number 4489.

January 2005

4 January: There is at present no planned change to the notification period and there will not be an automatic change in April 2005.  The arrangements are as in HSC 2003/009 : LAC(2003)21.  The commitment by the Department was that we would consider including Sundays and Bank holidays after April 2005.

November 2004

Guardian Public Service Award in the joined-up Government category was won by Waltham Forest council and Waltham Forest primary care trust (PCT) for their joined-up approach in implementing the Community Care (Delayed Discharges etc) Act, particularly for their whole-systems implementation team, and the reinvestment of their Delayed Dishcharge grant into services that will aid hospital discharges.

October 2004

Guidance on:
National Assistance Act 1948 (Choice of Accommodation) Directions 1992
National Assistance (Residential Accommodation) (Additional Payments and Assessment of Resources) (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2001

The new Guidance on the National Assistance Act 1948 (Choice of Accommodation) Directions 1992 has now been issued under the cover of LAC(2004)20. The new Guidance replaces the guidance which accompanied the Choice of Accommodation Directions 1992, and the further guidance included in LAC(2001)29 to take account of the National Assistance Act 1948 (Choice of Accommodation) (Amendment) (England) Directions 2001 and the National Assistance (Additional Payments and Assessment of resources (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2001.

The summary report of the public consultation exercise in relation to the new Guidance, which was undertaken from 22 September 2003 to 15 December 2003, is also now available.

Comments or queries regarding the new Guidance and the summary report  should be sent to:

August 2004

The Community Care Assessment Directions

Full involvement of individuals and their carers in both assessment and care planning has long been recognised as good practice and the importance of doing so has been highlighted in previous guidance.  The Community Care Assessment Directions, to come into force 1 September 2004, place existing good practice and guidance on conducting care assessments and care planning into a legal framework.

July 2004

March 2004

February 2004

January 2004

December 2003

  • New presentation: "What works?" - lessons from the shadow period
    The reimbursement team ran a series of six roadshows in November/ December 2003, entitled "Making Reimbursement Work" to support health and social care organisations during the shadow period of implementation.Click the link below to access the Presentations and related speeches page. The attached presentation, which was given at each of the roadshows, draws on the experience of local sites. It indicates critical factors for successful implementation of the new legislation, and shares lessons in "what works" to produce sustained reductions in delayed transfers of care.
  • The SITREP guidance has been revised to reflect the introduction of reimbursement.See pages 15-22 in particular to access the section on delayed transfers of care. Click the link below to access the guidance.
  • Draft Community Care Assessment Directions to local authorities were published for consultation on 1 December. The Government committed to issuing the Directions during the passing of the Community Care (Delayed Discharges etc.) Act 2003. This commitment was to ensure that existing guidance on involving users and carers in care planning was set into a legal framework.You are invited to comment on the draft directions by Friday 20th February 2004. Click the link below to Community Care Assessment Directions - Consultation on proposed draft Directions 2003 to access them.

November 2003

  • New training materials availableThe Change Agent team at the Department has developed a set of training modules to accompany the Department of Health discharge manual, Discharge from Hosptal: pathway, process and practice. The material is aimed at senior staff and practitioners in acute hospitals and their partners in Local Authorities and Primary Care Trusts. Click the link below to access the modules: -

October 2003

  • Click on the link below to view the PDF document Offsetting reimbursement liability against new investment
  • Further note on withdrawal of notifications:
    In response to requests from the field, the Reimbursement Implementation Team has produced a note advising on how to implement those parts of the Community Care (Delayed Discharges, etc) Act 2003 which relate to the withdrawal and reissue of Assessment Notifications (Section 2) and Discharge Notifications (Section 5). Click the link below to access the new document.
  • Ordinary Residence Arrangements - Department of Health / National Assembly for Wales
    Section 8(2) of the Community Care (Delayed Discharges etc.) Act 2003 requires the Secretary of State and the National Assembly for Wales to make and publish arrangements for determining which cases, where questions arise under Part 1 of the Act as to the ordinary residence of an individual, are to be dealt with by the Secretary of State and which are to be dealt with by the Assembly. Click on the link below to view the arrangements
  • November roadshow programme to support implementation: click on the link below to List of events
  • Strategic Health Authority stocktake proforma - Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire StHA. This template is designed for completion by local health and social care communities, for them to self assess their local position and state of readiness to implement the Community Care (Delayed Discharges) Act across Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. Click on the link below for the full document.
  • Discharge Assessment Tool - Addenbrook's NHS Trust and Cambridge City PCT. This discharge planning assessment sheet incorporates a discharge assessment tool to help NHS staff identify a likely need for community care services and thus the need for an assessment notification.Click on the link below for interdisciplinary team communication sheetClick on the link below for assessment form: discharge planning document (Powerpoint format)Click on the link below for assessment form: referral/ home circumstances/ reasons for delay (Powerpoint format)
  • Strategic Health Authority/SSI review process of individual health and social care systems
    Based on an initial self-scoring assessment by local partners: Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire health and social care communityClick on the link below for the project summaryClick on the link below to download the full review

September 2003

  • New training support section - click on the link below to see the Reimbursement training materials page.
  • Contact details for local authorities - where to send your notification forms
  • Guidance for implementing reimbursement now published. Click on the link below to view the Guidance for Implementation page
  • Final versions of Regulations and Mental Health Order published
    Click on the link below to view The Delayed Discharges (England) Regulations 2003
    Click on the link below to view The Delayed Discharges (Mental Health Care) (England) Order 2003
  • Example notification protocol
    The Notification Process has been amended to include questions on whether initial medical assessment for NHS continuing care has been undertaken.
  • SITREPS changes to reflect reimbursement
  • Updated protocol on handling disputes

Additional links

Integrated Care Network (ICN)

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