Discharging yourself from hospital

alwaysonthego_2

I am a social worker for adults. The only way that your husband can be prevented to self discharge is if he is sectioned under the mental Health Act or if he lacks Mental Capacity and has a Deprivation of Liberty Safeguard in place.

Dird

Does he has health insurance? If he discharged himself from hospital against doctors recommendations & something happened then decent chance they won't pay out if they don't pay for suicide

sacha28

I think some context is needed here OP. What 'type' of hospital is he in, mental health or general? What's his medical condition? How far into treament is he? Does he have the capacity to make the decisison to leave?

As above, a patient with capacity is free to leave as they wish...as long as they have capacity. Even if the patient is physically unable to independently leave then hospitals must facilitate the self discharge i.e. by arranging transport home to ensure they get home safely (well, this is how my trust works).

The police may come knocking on the door to perform a welfare check, but only if this has been requested by the hospital staff because there are concerns (or if the patient has just boggered off without having their cannula removed, which happens a lot!). Once they are satisfied that all is ok they will leave you alone BUT if the staff have requested the patient be brought back then this can be done either under their own steam or under a section 136 (which is not voluntary).

If your husband is going to leave can I please ask that he at least have the manners and grace to tell the staff he is going. I have lost many hours searching for patients that have just upped and left without a word and, when I can't find them, I then have to make a request to security to review CCTV to see if they can see the patient leaving. Also, this frees up the bed for 97 year old Doris who has been sat on a trolley in A&E for several hours waiting for a bed that has been held for 6 hours just in case the patient returns.

You've had some good information here however, in your particular case, it's impossible to give any sound advice as the circumstances aren't known.

rpc

Dird wrote: »

Does he has health insurance? If he discharged himself from hospital against doctors recommendations & something happened then decent chance they won't pay out if they don't pay for suicide

You seem to be confused about different types of insurance and, in any case, refusing medical treatment is never the same as suicide.

sacha28 wrote: »

The police may come knocking on the door to perform a welfare check, but only if this has been requested by the hospital staff because there are concerns (or if the patient has just boggered off without having their cannula removed, which happens a lot!). Once they are satisfied that all is ok they will leave you alone BUT if the staff have requested the patient be brought back then this can be done either under their own steam or under a section 136 (which is not voluntary).

The staff need to do more than just request that the patient return - section 136 only applied to specific cases where mental illness is a problem.

Section 136 also cannot be used in a private dwelling - is can be used in public spaces only and grants no power of entry.

juliethemuse

duchy wrote: »

If medically they feel he isn't ready to be discharged then why would you enable him to leave ? Hospitals aren't known for keeping people in any longer than absolutely nessecery.

I'd worry far more about his health than the police showing up

This is rubbish!!! there is nothing wrong with him he was waiting 3 days for a small wound to be sutured. is 'op' got cancelled 3 times.
even when they say you can go,No wonder beds get blocked! Half of them have patients waiting to be given their discharge letter & medications.

[Deleted User]

ripplyuk wrote: »

No one reported me as a missing person, or ever checked up to see if I was ok. Recently I got a copy of my medical records and they just say 'Went missing from hospital'.

I've never walked out of hospital, but I stopped attending a clinic as an outpatient once. My records say that they sent someone round to check on my welfare, but they never did. I've asked them who they sent round and when, but not surprisingly that's one of many questions they refuse to answer.

Guest101

juliethemuse wrote: »

This is rubbish!!! there is nothing wrong with him he was waiting 3 days for a small wound to be sutured. is 'op' got cancelled 3 times.
even when they say you can go,No wonder beds get blocked! Half of them have patients waiting to be given their discharge letter & medications.

There isn't a hospital in the country which would willingly keep someone in like this - there will be other reasons

juliethemuse

He has complex medical problems but this procedure wasnt really complex he could have been home weeks ago. who wouldn't be fed up about it? and the icing on the cake was when one of the staff said that the police may call to make a welfare check. they did this before once as he self discharged before.
As soon as he starts asking for the form to sign to get out they all do a disappearing act.

[Deleted User]

juliethemuse wrote: »

He has complex medical problems but this procedure wasnt really complex he could have been home weeks ago. who wouldn't be fed up about it? and the icing on the cake was when one of the staff said that the police may call to make a welfare check. they did this before once as he self discharged before.
As soon as he starts asking for the form to sign to get out they all do a disappearing act.

Isn't it interesting how the reality contrasts with the rosy pictures painted by the apologists for the NHS.

suki1964

At our local hospital, the only way we got to see a doctor in charge was to make an appointment. Not an op appointment but an appointment at some point during the day where the doctor could give you the time to explain what's happening.

Is this possible where you are? Perhaps if so and you don't get the answers to why he's still there, you can insist on the discharge