The availability and supply of short-term care beds in long-term care facilities: a mechanism to ensure timely transfers out of hospital for older patients in England

Context: At the time of the study, hospitals in England had 24,029 patients who no longer met the criteria to reside (as of 1 April 2022).

Objective: This qualitative study examined the availability of short-term beds in long-term care facilities to support the discharge process, alongside the opportunities and challenges managers faced.

Method: Managers in long-term care facilities were interviewed between October 2021 and April 2022. The framework approach underpinned the analysis, which used

thematic analysis.

Findings: Managers perceived that short-term beds enable the transfer of patients from a hospital for assessment and potential rehabilitation before returning home or to a further care setting. Three main themes emerged: supply and demand, service pressure, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Limitations: The study was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the government’s guidance to long-term care facilities underwent significant changes. The study was limited to a small sample of managers from long-term care facilities, and therefore, the views may not be representative. Finally, we acknowledge that the preferences among patients and families were not represented in the study, and that the discharge process could not be fully explored.

Implications: This study found that communication and planning within and between health and social care providers are crucial for ensuring the timely discharge of patients into long-term care facilities. These findings are consistent with post-pandemic research (Naick and Jones (in development)), highlighting the potential to inform government policies focusing on the hospital discharge process.