Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of hospital pharmacy delays on discharge times for patients who are medically fit to leave.

The Department and NHS England recognise the need for patients who are ready to go home to be discharged as quickly as possible, both for their benefit and to improve the efficiency of hospitals. Pharmacy-related delays can affect timely hospital discharge for medically fit patients, impacting patient experience, patient flow, and hospital efficiency.

Work is underway nationally and locally to improve discharge processes and reduce avoidable delays. New discharge metrics are supporting providers and systems to identify the causes of delay, including those related to pharmacy, and address them.