Length of stay in community hospitals

To identify the factors that contribute to variation in length of stay in hospital.

After a pilot study, an audit was undertaken in 11 community hospitals in a single trust over an eight-week period. Each ward was audited once. During the audit period 202 patients' records were reviewed, of which 71 were GP admissions and 131 were consultant admissions.

Patients admitted to community hospitals were older, predominantly female, classed as at risk of malnutrition and had a reduced functional capacity. An increased length of stay could also be due to limited evidence of discharge planning on transfer from acute or residential homes, a lack of information about patients' social circumstances and how the discharge process was progressed, delay from referral to assessment by the multidisciplinary team, and pressure ulcers on admission to hospital.

Recommendations for practice are: improved documentation, including an integrated discharge care pathway that is transferable across health and social care; multidisciplinary records; clinical leadership; adapting the current audit tool; and undertaking another audit after the recommendations have been implemented.