Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of Discharge‑to‑Assess pathways into intermediate care services in the South East; and what steps she is taking to prevent delays for patients awaiting transfer from hospital for rehabilitation.

We recognise that it is important that people are discharged promptly from the hospital with the right support, both for their outcomes and to free up beds for other patients.

We are continuing to work with National Health Service trusts and local authorities to embed best practice in discharge processes. Areas experiencing the most significant challenges with discharge delays and urgent and emergency care performance are receiving targeted support to drive those improvements. The recently published NHS England Model Discharge Pathway sets out good practice to support timely, safe discharge from hospital, and reduce unwarranted variation in discharge processes across wards and organisations.

We are also working to strengthen intermediate care capacity, and this includes through the Better Care Fund investing £9 billion in services that help people regain independence and prevent avoidable admissions, including intermediate care, rehabilitation, and reablement services.