Staff’s experiences of the discharge process in a mental health rehabilitation pathway

The transition between inpatient mental health settings and the community requires health and social care professionals to work collaboratively to support service users. A suboptimal discharge can result in inadequate support for service users and may impede their recovery. The experiences of healthcare staff of the discharge process were explored in a service evaluation undertaken at one mental health trust in England. Seven mental health nurses and two occupational therapists, who were all involved in the enhanced rehabilitation and recovery pathway at the trust, took part in semi-structured interviews. They reported positive experiences of the discharge process but also identified areas for improvement. These included staff training, collaboration and communication with service users and their families and carers, communication between professionals in different services, and consideration of the structure and pace of the discharge process.