Anything that helps someone leave hospital when they are medically fit to do so is critical to their ongoing recovery and helps the broader system, from ambulance delays due to handing patients over in A&E to improving wider patient flow.

When someone is waiting to leave hospital and it has been agreed to discharge to a Care Home, either for a longterm placement or for 'step down' support, the Capacity Tracker can assist discharge teams by reducing the number of speculative calls checking the status of vacancies which add burden to Care Homes. Ensuring the data in CT is as up to date as possible is the best way to avoid additional calls. Calls made are then able to be more focused on discussing the care needs of specific individuals.

What is needed by Care Homes?

• Update your vacancies whenever the status of your vacancies change or, at least every 48 hours
• Ensure that your list of available Services is reviewed – particularly, it is essential that if your location is able to provide short stay/step down services then this is made clear on the Capacity Tracker
• Advise discharge teams making speculative calls that your vacancy information is up to date so they gain confidence and reduce speculative calls – direct them to your CT data