"Let down by the communication between services"

My frail elderly mum has recently been in Ayr hospital due to an exacerbation of a heart condition after receiving appropriate treatment for 10 days she was deemed medically fit for discharge but had to wait on a package of care being available before she could be discharged home. We had been told there was a possibility she would be moved from Acute Hospital to a community one to wait on this which seemed appropriate.

The service was let down by poor communication between health and social care - first of all my mum was told she was going home only to then be told she was was then going to a East Ayrshire Community Hospital.  She felt let down and disappointed by how the news was delivered.

Shortly after this I received a telephone call from Social Work to state that her care package would start and that she wouldn't be moved as she was for discharge so soon. This information wasn't communicated to my mum or the staff in Station 3 at Ayr Hospital and she was discharged to the community hospital later that day. My mum phoned me to inform me that she had been moved and had no knowledge that care package was to start, she felt let down by the communication between services. There was no notification from the hospital when she was transferred to the discharge lounge in preparation for the move either.

This move used extra resources in a time when NHS services are so stretched as patient transport was used to transfer her and it put pressure on the community hospital to complete an admission for such a short period of time. I find it hard to believe that there wasn't a more suitable patient to move than someone who was to be discharged so soon.  I feel there was a lack of communication between Bed Manager, Social care and Ward staff, which had a negative impact on my mum's experience of care causing unnecessary stress and upset.