With winter pressures upon NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde services, patients are being encouraged to get ‘Home for Lunch’. This involves, alongside their families, carers, and loved ones, making the necessary arrangements to help them return to the comfort of home the morning of their scheduled discharge.
The ‘Home for Lunch’ initiative asks patients, families, and loved ones to use the following checklist:
- Arranging transport in advance, if required.
- Ensuring appropriate clothing is available for travel.
- Making sure their loved one has access to their home.
- Preparing essentials at home, such as food and heating.
- Establishing a Power of Attorney for healthcare matters.
Getting a patient back to their home environment, which could also include a care home in some cases, gets them back to their personal comforts and avoids the well-known risks associated with prolonged hospital stays.
Professor Angela Wallace, Executive Director of Nursing at NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, explained: “We understand that no one wants to be in hospital any longer than required. That’s why we’re encouraging patients, families, and carers to help us ensure their loved ones get ‘Home for Lunch’. Achieving this means patients are back to their home comforts.
“Winter puts additional pressure on the NHS. It may seem small, but ‘Home for Lunch’ allows us to make sure we can admit patients who urgently need our care. This includes patients being seen quickly in our emergency departments and it helps us to ensure people can receive planned care without delay.”
Annette Cunningham, Senior Charge Nurse at the Discharge Lounge in the Royal Alexandra Hospital, said: “We’re here to help get patients home at the final stage of their stay at the hospital. We’re asking for patients, families, carers, and loved ones to help us by thinking about our checklist while in hospital and ahead of discharge.
“We know while in hospital, the focus for patients is on getting better and recovering. It’s during this time that family, carers, and loved ones can play a key role in supporting us with ‘Home for Lunch’. If they consider our checklist, it will mean their loved one can get back to the comfort of their own home in a timely manner.”
For further information on patient discharge, visit Home for Lunch – NHSGGC.