An innovative new system that is helping King’s Mill Hospital, Sutton, to cut unnecessary admissions and get elderly and vulnerable patients back home quickly is the first of its kind in the East Midlands.

Sherwood Forest Hospitals, Nottinghamshire Health Informatics Service (NHIS) and Nottinghamshire County Council have worked closely together to develop the communication system.

It allows staff working in the Emergency Department at the hospital to have access to some key aspects of information held on the council’s adult social care electronic records, once the patient has consented to information being shared.

That means hospital staff can see whether a social care package is in place for a patient, enabling them to make a more informed decision about whether the patient can be sent home safely, whatever the time of day, knowing the right care and support is in place.

Previously staff had to rely on asking a social care worker to look up the information, which was not possible out of office hours.

Specialist discharge nurse at Sherwood Forest Hospitals, Debbie Thompson, said: “This new system has made decision making when discharging patients a much quicker process, especially out of hours, as we know whether vulnerable or elderly patients will have the support they need in place when they return home.

“We know how important it is that patients, in particular elderly and vulnerable patients, can return to their own home as quickly as possible rather than having to be admitted to hospital unnecessarily – one week of reduced mobility can result in a 10% to 20% reduction in muscle mass, meaning that elderly patients can go from independent to dependent just by spending a week in hospital.

“This new system helps us to ensure that we can deliver the care that the patient needs in a timely way and get them back in their home and independent.”

If a care package is in place, contact details of the care provider are displayed allowing the clinician to contact the service provider directly. This allows a decision to be made more speedily, and in most cases without the need to contact on-site social care teams.

Claire Atkinson, team manager at the council’s hospital assessment team covering Mansfield, said: “This system is allowing health professionals working in the Emergency Department to make informed decisions on whether there is care and support at home for vulnerable people they see to help reduce unnecessary admissions.

“It will also highlight if the County Council has any safeguarding concerns relating to an individual so health professionals can work with social workers to ensure that it is safe to discharge the person home.”

Mary Whetstone, business change and project manager at the Nottinghamshire Health Informatics Service, said: “This was a clinically lead project that has supported Emergency Department staff to make appropriate decisions about whether it is safe to discharge a patient out of hours. It has reduced the amount of time spent discussing ‘routine’ patients with the Social Care team in Emergency Department, allowing them to focus on the more complex cases.”