The hospital discharge system is "failing" due to poor communication with care providers, a survey has found.

The elderly are being affected by a “postcode lottery” when being discharged from hospital, care directory Autumna said.

In Sussex, 29 providers were surveyed as part of the study, which found that 62 per cent of them don’t receive referrals from hospitals, while 72 per cent said they do not have positive relationships with discharge teams, more than double the national figure of 34 per cent.

It has also been revealed that over a quarter of elderly patients who are declared medically fit to leave hospital wait one to two more weeks before being transferred to a care provider.

All of the providers surveyed in Sussex would like to see the discharge system reformed by the government.

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Debbie Harris, the founder and managing director of Autumna, said: “Our survey, which is the first to probe the experiences of social care providers of the hospital discharge system, shows a system that is failing due to poor relationships caused by poor communication.

“We have elderly patients stuck in hospitals when there is sufficient care to support their discharge, either in a care home or with support at home.

“Hospital discharge teams do not have effective tools to identify available, appropriate care quickly and are overly reliant on some providers, meaning elderly patients are denied access to the full range of appropriate support available to get them out of hospital.

“The care sector has the capacity, the expertise and the enthusiasm to be part of the solution. What’s more, speeding up hospital discharge will help the commercial viability of providers who face increasingly squeezed margins - 518 care homes closed in 2023, with a loss of 14,169 beds.

"With an ever-ageing population, continuing to fail to find a solution to speedy, efficient and appropriate hospital discharges is unsustainable – for the NHS, for local authorities, for the taxpayer, and – most importantly – for our elderly.

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"We challenge the government, health and social care leaders to think imaginatively to rise to the challenge.”

A spokesman for Sussex Health and Care integrated care system said: "Health and care organisations in Sussex continue to work closely together to help people who are well enough to leave hospital in a timely way.

"Sussex Health and Care integrated care system operates 'discharge to assess' with the aim of ensuring that most patients, where appropriate, are discharged to their usual place of residence, maintaining independence. 

“Working with our partners, local authorities, voluntary sector, carers, and patients, we aim to enhance people’s rehabilitation and reablement with a therapeutic approach across Sussex - meaning greater independence for patients and promoting wellbeing of the local population. 

“Supporting health and care staff to work in a more joined-up way with our community and voluntary sector partners will also help to improve discharge and recovery, so we have also developed transfer of care hubs across Sussex, where local teams can come together to organise and co-ordinate safe and timely discharge plans for our patients.”