Sherwood Forest Hospitals welcomes first patients to new discharge lounge

A new and spacious Discharge Lounge has opened at King’s Mill Hospital.

This Department of Health and Social Care funding will further enhance the care that can be delivered to patients, by creating a more positive and comfortable experience for patients while they are in hospital.

The new lounge, which has had a complete re-design, will have increased capacity and help to improve how patients move through the hospital. It will also help to speed-up the process of discharging patients to wherever they call home, as well as allowing patients quicker access to hospital beds.

For those patients waiting to be transported to wherever they call home, the new facility will also provide a comfortable and purpose-designed space as they wait for medication or transport or for their relatives to collect them. There will be volunteers based in the lounge to provide patients with food and drink.

It will also allow for patients with more complex conditions to be transferred there.

One of the first patients to be transferred to the lounge was Mrs Barbara Bostock, 74 from Rainworth. Barbara had been in hospital for a week after a short illness got suddenly worse and she could no longer cope at home. She praised the staff saying, “the staff are superb, really caring” and said the new lounge was “absolutely beautiful – the colours are amazing, and they really lift your spirits.”

Barbara was delighted to be transferred to the lounge while she waited for her husband to come and collect her.

“Time went by so quickly. You make new friends, have a good chat.”

But in the end, there is nothing quite like your own home and Barbara will now continue getting the treatment she needs under the SFH@Home, Sherwood Forest Hospitals virtual wards service, which provides hospital supervised treatment to the patient in their own home.

The Chief Executive of Sherwood Forest Hospitals, Paul Robinson said: “We are very pleased to be opening this dedicated discharge space for our patients. These improvements and the greater capacity will significantly increase the percentage of patients who can transfer to the Discharge Lounge rather than waiting in much needed beds once until they are ready to be discharged.”

“Transferring patients who are well enough to go home to the lounge helps us to reduce waiting times and improves the speed and quality of care we can deliver. Making every bed count really is key.”

There is now increased capacity for 19 beds and a variety of chair spaces - initially 22 but this can be adapted if required. There are also four isolation cubicles to help avoid the spread of infection when necessary. It will allow many more patients the opportunity to transfer to the dedicated lounge where specialist trained staff will help them to adjust to being at home again.

There are also significant advantages for the patient in being transferred to a designated discharge lounge.

Denise Wharmby, Deputy Director for Urgent and Emergency Care, Sherwood Forest Hospitals and Matron of the Discharge Lounge advised: “There is a lot of evidence to show that patients recover better at home once their treatment in hospital is complete. Waiting in the more relaxed and friendly environment of the discharge lounge also gives our specialist staff the opportunity to help prepare patients to re-adjust as they prepare for life out of hospital” 

The new discharge lounge has a pick-up point outside Entrance 4,

easily accessible for ambulances and hospital transport and making it much easier for friends and families to collect their relatives who are waiting to go home.

And from Monday 6 May, the Discharge Lounge will be opening 24 hours a day, seven days a week, enabling patients to stay overnight ready for early discharge the next morning and enhancing the care the Trust can offer to patients.

Paul Robinson, CEO added: “This superb project further reinforces our commitment to deliver outstanding healthcare for our patients and communities and to play a leading role in transforming local health and care services.”