Delayed Discharge Reason
Identifying Attributes
Care Settings
Hospital Care
Country
United Kingdom, Channel Islands and Isle of Man
Publishing Organisation
Nuffield Trust and Health Foundation programme: QualityWatch
Type of Quality Indicator
Process
IOM Quality Dimension
Timeliness
Domain
Discharges
Defining Attributes
Definition
The proportion of patients who experienced different causes of delayed hospital discharge.
Numerator
The number of people whose reason for delay is one of the following: no plan or further assessment needed, awaiting home care, awaiting a short-term bed, awaiting a bed in a nursing or care home.
Denominator
Out of the total number of people (with a given length of stay) who have been judged to no longer meet the criteria to reside but who continue to reside in hospital.
Exclusions
Use of Risk Adjustment
No
Risk Adjustments
None
Stratifications
By length of stay (7+ days, 21+ days).
Collection and Reporting Attributes
Type of Data Collection
Administrative data
Data Collection Methods
NHS Digital
Frequency of Data Collection
Daily
Frequency of Data Collection in Days
1
Reporting Methods
Reporting Frequency
Monthly
Reporting Frequency in Days
30
Indicator Has Recommended Targets
No
Source and Reference Attributes
Evidence Source
Technical Specifications
Link to Measurement Tools
Quality Indicator Confirmed to be Part of a Program Used to Monitor Quality and Safety of Care Among Older People at a Population-Level between 2012-2022
Yes
Assessed by the Australian Consortium for Aged Care Collaborators as Generally Containing Good Properties (Importance and Scientific Acceptability)
No
Australian Consortium for Aged Care Endorsed
No
Identified by PHARMA-Care Project
No
Upload Date
02 December 2025
Contents
Actions
Date Modified 02 December 2025