The National Audit Office reported in 2016 that there was an estimated £820m gross cost to the NHS due to approximately 2.7m older patients in hospital who no longer required acute treatment, leading to 1.15m hospital bed days lost3.
The current, non-digital systems in place to handle assessment, discharge and withdrawal notices (ADWs) have been identified by local authorities and their NHS partners as one of the stumbling blocks to the transfer of care. This has led NHS Digital, in conjunction with NHS England, to offer funding to partnerships that have the potential to speed up the process.
Applications are now open for pioneering local authorities with adult social care responsibilities to work with at least one of their NHS partners, to create integrated digital assessment, discharge and withdrawal notices (ADWs).
"We know that technology has the potential to speed up the discharge process by integrating the health and social care IT systems, and we are here to support both local government and the wider NHS to help make this happen." Tom Denwood, Director of Data and Integration at NHS Digital
