REDUCING DELAYED DISCHARGES IN MEDICALLY STABLE PATIENTS: A PROSPECTIVE SERVICE EVALUATION OF SOCIAL CARE-RELATED FAAZCTORS AT A UK DISTRICT GENERALSZ HOSPITAL

Background: Delayed discharge of medically fit to discharge (MFFD) shows a major challenge to the resource allocation of the National Health Service (NHS).The purpose of this assessment was to measure the operational and financial effects of delays associated with social care and to find demographic predictors of long stays.Methods: A retrospective service analysis of 100 patients with MFFD was performed in eight acute wards at Eastbourne District General Hospital over a period of five months.The descriptive statistics and inferential tests, such as Spearman's rank correlation, were used to analyse the data to determine the correlation between age and delay time.Findings: The total number of bed days was 3,705, with 2,199 (59.3%) being occupied since the patient was pronounced MFFD.The average duration of stay was 21.99 days/patient.It was mostly composed of elderly people (55% of 80 and older).The correlation between age and the delay length was statistically significant (r s = 0.310, p =0.0017). Reducing Delayed Discharges in Medically StablePatients: A Prospective Service Evaluation of Social Care-Related Factors at A UK District General Hospital https://iaeme.com/Home/journal/IJPHRD 2 editor@iaeme.comAdult Social Care (ASC) infrastructure caused half of the delays, whereas therapy and placement matters were consisted of 31%.The outcome was a cost per bed day of £1,160, which resulted in a financial burden of 2,553,930 to the Trust.Conclusion: Delayed discharges are primarily caused by social care capacity and not internal administrative performance.The systemic bottlenecks of the old-old population occur disproportionately.This issue can be solved effectively through crosssector investment in community care and integrated discharge pathways to secure acute capacity and minimise unnecessary spending.