Exploring service users’ experience of transition from inpatient rehabilitation to community settings
Intended for healthcare professionals
Evidence and practice    

Exploring service users’ experience of transition from inpatient rehabilitation to community settings

Christina Shearn Trainee clinical psychologist, School of Psychology and Vision Sciences, University of Leicester, Leicester, England
Kelly Fenton Consultant clinical psychologist, Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust, Leicester, England
Craig Griffiths Clinical psychologist, Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust, Leicester, England

Why you should read this article:
  • To appreciate the importance of effective management of service users’ discharge from inpatient settings

  • To understand the factors that can enhance service users’ experience of transition from inpatient rehabilitation settings to the community

  • To learn about what elements of the discharge process could be improved to enhance service users’ experience

Discharge from inpatient rehabilitation settings can be a stressful experience for service users and mismanagement of the transition process can have negative outcomes, such as early readmission. This service evaluation explored the experience of people transitioning from inpatient rehabilitation settings to the community to identify what works well in the rehabilitation pathway discharge process and areas for improvement. Eight service users participated. All eight completed a bespoke questionnaire, six of whom took part in a subsequent semi-structured interview. Findings suggest that, overall, participants had a positive experience of transition, particularly in relation to practical and emotional support from inpatient and community rehabilitation services. Areas identified for improvement include increased involvement of family and carers during the discharge process and greater clarity about the role of the various professionals and teams involved in service users’ care once they are discharged to the community.

Mental Health Practice. doi: 10.7748/mhp.2024.e1684

Peer review

This article has been subject to external double-blind peer review and checked for plagiarism using automated software

Correspondence

cs838@leicester.ac.uk

Conflict of interest

None declared

Shearn C, Fenton K, Griffiths C (2024) Exploring service users’ experience of transition from inpatient rehabilitation to community settings. Mental Health Practice. doi: 10.7748/mhp.2024.e1684

Published online: 23 January 2024

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