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Oxfordshire bucks national trend as improvements to hospital discharge continue

04/02/2025
Oxfordshire's health and social care partners have reported a successful Christmas and new year period, as new programmes are beginning to take effect and reduce pressure on the system.

At a meeting of Oxfordshire Joint Health Overview Scrutiny Committee last week, senior leaders in the county's health and social care system have reported a positive picture, with the region’s discharge figures showing 150 people were supported to return home in the week of new year, thanks to Oxfordshire County Council’s discharge to assess programme.

Councillor Tim Bearder, Oxfordshire County Council's Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care, said: "While most of us take some time off towards the end of the year, our hardworking colleagues in health and social care are supporting people in hospital and community settings, enabling people to live well and as independently as possible.

"The last year has seen a positive shift in how the entire system is working, with more people being supported to head home after a hospital admission, reducing pressure on the hospitals and improving people’s chances of regaining their independence.

"To see this continuing to take effect over Christmas and new year is great news for health and social care partners and even better news for families who are able to start 2025 together.”

Significant changes have been taking place in Oxfordshire's health and social care system during the last 12 months, with increased partnership working and a greater emphasis on supporting people to access services, and live more independently, at home.

This includes the council's discharge to assess programme, which supports people home more quickly after a stay in hospital, by providing additional home care support before care and financial assessments have taken place. Prior to the launch of the programme, this was done on a hospital ward, adding to a person's length of stay. 

Oxfordshire County Council is now working with home care organisations through a dedicated framework to provide more than 34,000 hours of care in people's homes each week, compared to 24,000 hours per week, five years ago.

Coupled with the Transfer of Care Hub, which has been embedded into Oxfordshire’s hospitals to help identify a person's route out of hospital and back home at a much earlier stage, discharge to assess has enabled 23% more people to be moved safely out of hospital with additional support compared to last year, completing over 7000 discharges throughout 2024.

Felicity Taylor-Drewe, Chief Operating Officer at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: "This achievement is testament to the excellent partnership work across the health and social care system to get people home from hospital as quickly and safely as possible – not least at a time like Christmas, when so many people want to be in familiar surroundings or with their loved ones.

"Initiatives like our Transfer of Care Hub are a really important part of this. Since the hub was set up in January 2023, the number of people in hospital beds waiting to go home or into community care has reduced to less than 90 a day, from a peak of 135 in 2022, including a recent low of 59.

"We know that being at home can really help patients with their recovery and wellbeing. Not only that, but by getting those patients who are well enough to leave us back home, we are freeing up beds for those people who need urgent or emergency care."

However, people are still advised to choose their healthcare services wisely, ensuring that urgent and emergency care is kept for those who genuinely need it.

Felicity added: "While we are working hard on getting people home from hospital, we also need people to be mindful and careful of their healthcare choices before coming to hospital. Emergency Departments should be for genuine emergencies only – if you need medical care that isn't urgent but are unsure of where to go, NHS 111 can help. They can point in the right direction in terms of a local service – whether that be a minor injury unit, your local pharmacy, or your GP, making sure that you get the right care, in the right place, at the right time."
 

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