Perspectives of carers on the move from a hospital to a transitional care unit

The authors describe carers' experiences of the traditional process of moving a relative into residential care from an acute hospital admission and how a transitional care unit affected this experience. Telephone interviews (total 31) confirmed that looking for permanent care was a stressful, time-consuming, and confusing process for all carers. The transitional care unit did not make a great difference to the stress of finding a residential care vacancy, but the overall experience of transitional care was positive, with carers feeling that it gave them time to consider residential care options. Carers felt that a hospital was not the best environment to assess ongoing care needs. The implementation of transitional care did not reduce the stress felt by carers when looking for a residential care facility, but it was an acceptable alternative to waiting for residential care in hospital.