Discharge to Assess (D2A)
(D2A) Nursing Home Pathway
Sometimes a patient can be ready to leave hospital but not well enough to return to their previous place of residence.
In these circumstances patients will be discharged through the Discharge to Assess (D2A) pathway into a nursing home to receive additional support and further assessment.
Why D2A?
Staying in hospital for longer than necessary can put you at risk of losing some of your strength, mobility and getting an infection.
Once your medical treatment is over, the best environment for recovery is out of hospital.
Health and social care will work together to support you following your discharge and we will make arrangements for you to be cared for at a care home for a short time only.
How you are supported in the interim placement
Whilst you are in this care home we will assess your care and support needs and work with you to make sure your long term needs are met.
Your social worker and nurse will help you with this process.
Your needs will be assessed under the Continuing Healthcare Framework. See the GOV.UK website for further details.
An approved care home in Barking and Dagenham, Havering or Redbridge will be chosen for you for this short stay.
A member of one of our health and social care teams will work with you and your family to support your move to the care home you will not be charged initially for this nursing home placement.
The assessment process
Our first goal in working with you and your family or carer is to support you to achieve your recovery goals with the aim of returning to the place you usually live.
During your time at the care home placement a physiotherapist and other members of the team will provide on-going therapy and support.
If returning home independently or with a package of support is not possible, then we will work with you and your family or carer to help you decide where the best place is to live.
This might mean we recommend that you remain in a nursing home or move to a residential home.
Financial assessment
You should be aware, that if following the assessment, your level of care is assessed as needing social care support, a financial assessment will be completed by us to establish how much you need to pay towards your care.
There are national regulations about this, and we will provide you with information about the financial assessment process.
The financial contribution will apply from when our support package begins.
For more details about the financial assessment go to our financial assessment page.
Ongoing support
We are all here to help as we recognise that discharge from hospital can be a difficult time for patients, their families and carers.
There is support available for you throughout the discharge process and you should speak to the ward staff or your social worker if you have any questions or concerns.
Contact us about the discharge to assess process
01708 435454 / 020 8970 8234 or email bhrut.pals@nhs.net.
If you are deaf or unable to communicate with us using telephone or email, we have a text service which can be contacted on 07800 005502.