FOI/2026/27/12

To whom it may concern,

Under the Freedom of Information Act, I would like to request the following information relating to patients requiring complex home care packages on discharge from hospital.

For clarity, “complex home care” refers to high-acuity packages requiring significant care input (e.g. ventilation, tracheostomy care, enteral feeding, or complex neurological support) that goes beyond basic domiciliary home care assistance.

Failing that definition, please define “complex home care” as any home care package eligible for funding under the NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC) funding pathway.

Please note I have requested a breakdown of the data by age group. If data cannot be broken down by requested age bands, then please provide total figures across all age groups, adults aged 18+ and children aged 0-17.

If data for the full year 2025/26 is not yet available, then please provide the latest yearly snapshot data for 2025/26.

Where possible, please kindly include responses on the attached spreadsheet.

1.       Please provide the name, telephone number and email address of the person responsible for coordinating / liaising discharge from hospital to community health and social care providers.

 

2.       For each of the following years (2022/23, 2023/24, 2024/25, and latest 2025/26 data), please provide the total number of bed days lost due to delays in arranging CHC-funded complex home care packages across:

a.       All age patients

b.       Adult patients aged 18-64 years

c.       Child patients aged 0-17 years

 

3.       Please provide the most recent available snapshot (e.g. March 2026) of the total number of patients currently in hospital who are medically fit for discharge but are awaiting a CHC-funded complex home care package across:

a.       All age patients

b.       Adult patients aged 18-64 years

c.       Child patients aged 0-17 years

 

4.       If available, please also provide latest equivalent snapshots for prior years (e.g. March 2025, March 2024, March 2023) of the total number of patients currently in hospital who are medically fit for discharge but are awaiting a CHC-funded complex home care package across:

a.       All age patients

b.       Adult patients aged 18-64 years

c.       Child patients aged 0-17 years

 

5.       For each of the following years (2022/23, 2023/24, 2024/25, and latest 2025/26 data), please provide the average time (in days) from being medically fit for discharge to discharge where a CHC-funded complex home care package is required across:

a.       All age patients

b.       Adult patients aged 18-64 years

c.       Child patients aged 0-17 years

 

6.       For each of the following years (2022/23, 2023/24, 2024/25, and latest 2025/26 data), please provide the number of patients who were assessed as requiring complex home care but were discharged to an alternative setting (e.g. residential or nursing care) due to a lack of CHC-funded complex home care packages across:

a.       All age patients

b.       Adult patients aged 18-64 years

c.       Child patients aged 0-17 years

 

In response to your first question:

1. Please provide the name, telephone number and email address of the person responsible for coordinating / liaising discharge from hospital to community health and social care providers.

 

Discharge coordination within CLCH is managed through integrated, multidisciplinary teams working across boroughs, including services such as Integrated Care Coordination Services (ICCS) and Transfer of Care Hubs. These are team-based functions rather than being the responsibility of a single named individual. Therefore, we do not hold a specific individual contact as described.

 

CLCH does not hold the information requested in Questions 2–6. These relate to hospital bed management, discharge delays, and Continuing Healthcare (CHC) funding processes, which are the responsibility of acute hospital trusts and the relevant Integrated Care Board (ICB).

You may wish to redirect your request to the appropriate acute trusts or the relevant ICB, who would be better placed to assist.