Nurse led discharge: improving efficiency, safely
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that nurse led discharge (NLD) could improve the efficiency of simple discharges from a short stay surgical ward without compromising patient safety. Design/methodology/approach – A protocol for NLD was designed and implemented. Introduction of the protocol was audited and re-audited prospectively. Findings – Introduction of the nurse led discharge protocol significantly reduced the rate of delayed discharge (p>0.001). The protocol successfully identified all patients for whom a NLD would be inappropriate and no patients discharged by the nursing team were re-admitted. Research limitations/implications – No formal measure of staff and patient satisfaction with the new protocol was performed. Practical implications – The nursing team are now able to more effectively manage patient flow through the short stay surgical ward. Mismatch between demand for beds and capacity has reduced. Social implications – Patient experience has been improved by the release of time to care for our nurses and the elimination of unnecessary delay in discharge. Originality/value – Formal protocol driven NLD can be a safe way of improving efficiency in patient flow. This pattern of discharge could be applied in many hospital systems.