The 50-day winter challenge to help more people return home from hospital is showing promising results, Health Secretary Jeremy Miles has said.
The challenge was designed to ensure the NHS and local councils worked together to share and learn from the best practice to ensure the right support is available to help people stay well, or to recover at home or in their local community.
Health boards and local authorities used a 10-point action plan to reduce the overall numbers of people who experience discharge delays and to reduce the number of days people were delayed overall.
It targeted the 25% of people with the longest hospital discharge delays and ensured appropriate plans were in place to support their discharge.
The Welsh Government has provided £19m to support the challenge and ensure the learning continues beyond its end.
It is supporting increased reablement and domiciliary care services, helping more people stay well at home.
The latest figures show December was the fourth successive month where the number of hospital discharge delays fell, establishing a downward trend since April 2024 and highlighting the positive impact of the 50-Day challenge. There has been a 14% improvement in delays since March 2024.
The focus on supporting people with the longest discharge delays identified 395 people. More than half – 225 people – were discharged by the end of December. Of the remaining 170 people, 80.5% have agreed discharge plans to either go home or to a care facility.
Some of the biggest reductions have been achieved in waits for joint assessments and in starts for reablement care packages.
Health Secretary Jeremy Miles and Minister for Children and Social Care Dawn Bowden have met Rachel Ponting in Mountain Ash. Rachel had a major stroke when she was 48 and was supported by Rhondda Cynon Taf Council’s reablement team at home, after spending four months in hospital.
Reablement is a personalised programme which helps people rebuild their strength and abilities. It is part of the 10-point action plan to support more people to recover after hospital or reduce the need for hospital admission.
Rachel has worked extremely hard with staff leading the programme. As a result, her package of care has been reduced from four calls a day to two and she enjoys a greater degree of independence and mobility within the home. This is unlikely to have happened without the reablement service.
Health Secretary Jeremy Miles said: “The initial results are positive, but there is a lot more to do to reduce delayed discharges in hospital and help people stay well at home.
“Health boards and social care partners now need to keep working together to implement the 10 key policies and actions that we know make the biggest difference, in the longer term.
“It was good to meet Rachel and to talk about the support she had from the reablement team after a major stroke. Her story is a testament to the huge effect reablement teams can have on people’s lives.”
Minister for Children and Social Care Dawn Bowden said: “Reablement can help keep people well in their local community and prevent the need for admission to hospital. It is an important aspect of a more efficient and sustainable health and social care system.
“It is clear the work of the reablement team at Rhondda Cynon Taf Council has had a major impact on Rachel’s life and I thank them, and all who work in similar teams across Wales, for all they continue to do.”
Rachel Ponting said: “The support I’ve had from the reablement team has been fantastic. They’ve given me confidence and built my abilities again.
“I’ve learned how to stand on my own again, to walk, to cook. I am very grateful for all the help I’ve had.”
