A NEW and improved patient discharge lounge has been set up on the ground floor of Kettering General Hospital – and it has its own car parking.
The move has enabled the hospital trust to provide a better and more convenient environment for patients, relatives and staff.
Head of capacity Clare Beattie said: “This area will be the key destination for all KGH patients being discharged.
“We are very pleased to have such a large area for discharge because it enables us to move patients to it as early as possible.
“This helps us to free up beds on our wards earlier and improve flow through and out of the hospital.”
The trust’s existing discharge lounge has been relocated from Fotheringhay Ward on the top floor of the main ward block to the ground floor at the rear of the site in a former treatment area close to the Rothwell Road railway bridge entrance.
The new area also has a reception area, central ward station for good patient observation, a side room, improved toilets, three free dedicated parking spaces and its own ambulance bay.
The move itself happened on March 29 following appropriate refurbishment work of a former Renal Unit.
It is expected the new lounge will be used by all patients being discharged from the hospital (except children) – about 30 people per day.
Sister Laura Forgan and Sister Yvonne Head lead the team of nurses and healthcare assistants who staff the lounge. Laura said: “This is a big improvement for us. We have more space, better facilities and it will be easier for families – and non-emergency ambulance crews – to access the lounge.
“The discharge lounge performs a very important role. Our nurses and healthcare assistants help to get patients ready to go home.
“We can give them a meal, ensure they have their medication, their discharge letter and that they have someone to pick them up. While people wait for these arrangements to be finalised, we have a television and facilities for people to use their mobile phones or tablets.
“The new lounge will improve the quality of our patients’ experience of the discharge process.”
Pictured – NEW AND ON THE GROUND FLOOR: The Discharge Lounge team in their new location – from left, Denise Gregory, Yvonne Head, Karen Difante, Laura Forgan and Charlotte Platton.
