Introduction
Date
of Last Review 6/7/07
SME: Director of Nursing
| Purpose: | To define guidelines for use of the Discharge Waiting Area (DWA). |
| Policy: | Discharged adult patients who are awaiting rides will wait in the designated Discharge Waiting Area until their transportation arrives. Note: If the treatment team determines that a discharging patient’s safety and best interests would be better served by the patient’s remaining on the treatment unit until a designated person arrives to transport the patient, the attending physician will write the discharge order specifying to whom the patient will be discharged and noting that the patient is to remain on the treatment unit until that person arrives. |
| Discharge Waiting Area : | 1. The DWA is designed to provide discharged patients a comfortable, quiet area in which they may watch TV, talk on the phone or review discharge plans with staff. 2. The area is staffed with an experienced psychiatric technician. 3. This unlocked area will be open from 1100 hrs—1900 hrs. Monday-Friday. 4. The use of this area will enable the hospital to free up treatment beds more quickly for the use of potential patients awaiting admission |
Step |
Action |
1 |
MD writes the discharge order. The discharge order prints in Patient Registration. |
2 |
Unit calls front desk before 11am to notify them of the need to collect patient’s belongings. |
3 |
Unit Staff members escort their discharging patients to the property room where belongings are returned and signed for and patient is discharged from the computer. For patients ordered to remain on the unit, the unit staff will escort when the designated person arrives to transport the patient. |
4 |
Patient is logged into discharge area with patient name, unit, the Social Service Clinician (SSC) assigned, expected departure time and name of person who is picking up patient |
5 |
Patient’s discharge meds are stored in secure area; patient belongings are labeled and placed in secure area. |
6 |
Front desk notifies the Discharge Waiting Area staff when the ride arrives. At that time, staff gives patient his/her belongings and discharge medications and escorts patient to the front lobby. |
7 |
If patient is not picked up by 1500 hrs (when the ride was expected by then), discharge area staff calls/pages the SSC. Alternative transportation may be offered at that time. |
8 |
Patients may arrive to discharge area with aspects of discharge instruction pending. In these cases, the SSC may visit with patient and provide the needed discharge instruction. The conversation with the patient will take place in a private area so that the instruction is not overheard by other patients. |
9 |
If at any time patient has a question about discharge disposition, the assigned SSC will be contacted |
Related standard
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