A-therapist

Discharge Policy

 

Discharge of clients from the care of A-therapist follows the guidelines set by the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT) and the duty of care standards set out by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).

 

Discharge will be at the discretion of the designated Speech and Language Therapist (SLT) after full consultation and agreement with the client/carer and/or, where appropriate, consultation with other professionals involved.

 

Discharge may be initiated by the:

• Speech and Language Therapist

• client

• carer (if applicable)

 

Speech and Language Therapy initiated discharge may be for a number of reasons including:

• aims of intervention have been achieved

• communication and/or swallowing issues are no longer a priority

• the individual has reached a point where they are able to self-manage their condition

• the individual will be transferring to specialist care or a geographical location not covered by the therapist

• individual non-compliance

• intervention is not indicated at the present time

• the individual has failed to attend appointments (see below)

• An agreed specific service (e.g. assessment) has been completed

 

The timing of discharge varies for each individual client and is dependent on a variety of factors.

 

Missed appointments marked ‘Did Not Attend (DNA)’ will be appropriately investigated, with due consideration of risk factors (and, in the case of children, with due respect to safeguarding implications) prior to a decision to discharge.

 

Therapy may cease in the case of failed payment of fees at the discretion of the therapist and in accordance with payment terms and conditions. The client will be discharged and a standard discharge letter is produced (see discharge letter).

 

Preparation for discharge or transfer

 

This will include :

• Agreeing a point of closure with the individual/carer, as well as with other multidisciplinary care team professionals, as relevant and when necessary.

• Supporting the individual/carer through the process of ending therapy or through their transition to other services.

• Ensuring that the individual/carers feel confident that they have received all relevant care they require from the service and empowering them to manage any needs that no longer require ongoing intervention.

• Evaluating the degree to which the aims and goals have been met.

• To inform the individual/carers of routes for re-referral should it be necessary.

• To inform the individual/carers of any relevant national societies, voluntary organisations and local groups for support of any ongoing needs, when possible.

 

Suspension of Therapy Prior to Discharge

 

Where applicable, a temporary suspension of therapy may be agreed to allow the individual/carer to consolidate skills, investigate alternative sources of support or simply consider whether they wish to continue with therapy. The therapist will contact the individual/carer by email 30 days following their last scheduled appointment to check on therapy progress and determine the need for the continuation of therapy intervention. If the individual/carer does not respond to this email or schedule any further appointments within 14 days then it will be assumed that no further input is required and the client will be discharged. If an individual/carer wishes/needs to suspend therapy appointments for a longer time period whilst still remaining an active client with A-therapist, this must be jointly agreed with the therapist in advance with a compelling rationale for temporarily suspending treatment for an agreed duration of time. If no appointments have been scheduled following the agreed and specified date, then the client will be discharged.   

 

After discharge, self re-referral can take place at any time if future support is required. Re-assessment will be required before commencing therapy in circumstances where 6 months or more has passed since the last attended appointment. If less than 6 months have passed since the last attended appointment, an initial review appointment may be required before continuing any therapy intervention.   

 

Discharge Letter

 

Discharge will always be documented in the client’s clinical notes. A discharge letter may also be issued and shared when necessary. Discharge letters are issued within 3 weeks of the point of discharge/transition.

 

No extra charge is made for a standard discharge letter, which will be a brief (1 page) document containing the following information:

• Summary of intervention (including reference to reports produced during the episode of care)

• Reason(s) for discharge

• Guidance on re-referral

• Recommendations for other services taking over intervention/providing support (if applicable)

• Information on further support agencies and services (if applicable)

 

Where a more detailed report is requested by the client/carer/commissioning body, the reasons for this will be discussed and a fee agreed before the report is produced.

 

Following discharge, client records will be managed in accordance with A-therapist’s data security policy.

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Contact

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We are committed to reviewing our policies at regular intervals in line with best practice standards. If you have any questions in relation to our Discharge Policy, please email us at contact@a-therapist.com