Description
SWAIH Insight Talks.This talk introduces the IPACS project - exploring how to optimize capacity for complex patient discharge pathways and understand how to alleviate the shortage of acute beds that results from any delays in discharge to social care .
Transferring patients from hospitals to their homes or temporary care facilities is a complicated process that requires both efficient planning and effective support. However, delays and capacity issues often disrupt this process, especially when there isn’t enough care available in the right place at the right time. Social care shortages, as the final step in the care chain, are a major contributor to these delays. In 2019 alone, delays caused by unavailable social care led to the loss of about 500,000 acute hospital bed days in England.
Researchers from the Universities of Bath and Exeter collaborated with healthcare managers in local NHS Trusts to create an open-source simulation tool coded in R.
This adaptable and free tool models discharge pathways, known as ‘Discharge to Assess’ (D2A), and helps predict demand, capacity, and patient stay durations. By simulating scenarios, it can directly support decision-making for improving D2A services and managing seasonal pressures like winter demand.
| Period | 27 Jan 2025 |
|---|---|
| Held at | Durham University , UK United Kingdom |
| Degree of Recognition | Regional |