Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the implications for his policies of the recommendations in the Red Cross report entitled Home to the Unknown: Getting hospital discharge right; and whether he is taking steps to introduce an independence check prior to discharge or within 72 hours of going home, as recommended by the Red Cross.

The Department agrees that it is important that there is appropriate support for patients on discharge from hospital. All patients should have a discharge assessment to determine the level of care they will need upon discharge from hospital, including whether a care plan is needed.

The NHS Long Term Plan makes clear the importance of moving care into the community, and this Government is committed to achieving this. It commits an extra £4.5 billion a year by 2023/24 of investment in primary care and community health services.

The National Health Service is currently developing the Implementation Framework for the Long Term Plan. Improving discharge from hospital and supporting patients to recover their independence in the most appropriate setting will be taken into account within this framework.