Authors: Baz Tameez – Project Officer, VOICES

Alicia Simmons – Project Officer – VOICES

In late 2020 we mobilised a series of VOICES legacy projects that focus on gaps, barriers and issues that have been identified as key and ongoing challenges for people experiencing multiple disadvantages in Stoke-on-Trent.   The rationale for the project themes were drawn from a wide variety of sources including lived experiences of customers and colleagues, national research, case studies, academic articles, local evaluations, and insight from work undertaken across the VOICES partnership since 2014.  Our work shows that the transition from hospital or prison into the community is often a point at which plans – if they have been designed – can breakdown.

We recognised that improved discharge planning for people experiencing multiple disadvantages would increase the likelihood of a successful transition and the establishment of a more sustainable foundation for recovery.  To work towards this, we collaborated with stakeholders from across the city and established the VOICES ‘Transitions -Hospital Discharge’ legacy project.  Our project team includes VOICES team members, Expert Citizens, and key stakeholders who have co-produced and are co-delivering the hospital discharge project.

The aims of the project were:

• there is a set of recommended hospital release pathways that addresses the specific issues identified by VOICES for people experiencing multiple disadvantage
• the recommended hospital discharge pathway is the result of consultation and coproduction with key stakeholders
• the pathway is presented to strategic apex stakeholders as recommendations

The team have worked with a diverse range of stakeholders applying a wide variety of research and creative methods.

Key activities include:

• Citywide Community of Practice
• Lived experience consultation and participation
• Research of current hospital pathways (Track and Triage)
• Lived experience case studies
• Bespoke workshop involving key stakeholders from across the city to enable sharing of experiences and collaborating to co-develop an up-to-date discharge pathway
• CHAD (Centre for Health and Development – Staffordshire University) evaluation presented and discussed in the workshop event

The project has resulted in a coproduced set of recommendations which can be found in the final project report entitled Coproducing Hospital Disacharge Pathways in Stoke-on-Trent.