Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reasons NHS Mental Health Trusts are not included in the guidance, Hospital discharge service: policy and operating model; and for what reasons there is no equivalent guidance for those Trusts.

It is our priority to ensure that people are discharged safely from hospital to the most appropriate place, and that they continue to receive the care and support they need.

Under the Discharge Service Requirements, people who are clinically ready will be supported to return to their place of residence, where an assessment of longer-term needs will take place, using the ‘Discharge to Assess (D2A)’ HomeFirst model. Mental health inpatient services are not within scope for this guidance.