Worry over discharge letters

Councillor Jean Ashworth

Health Campaigner, Councillor Jean Ashworth, has raised concerns about hospital discharge letters – claiming they are not being sent to GPs.

Councillor Ashworth says that there are communication problems between hospitals in the area and GPs.

She said that the issue needs to be looked into as a “matter of urgency.”

Councillor Ashworth, said: “This has gone a hell of a lot worse since services were moved to Oldham.

“They are not communicating with GPs and it is totally wrong.

“This is about patient aftercare.

“It could be a life or death situation if they need different medication and their GP doesn’t know.”

A spokesman for The Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust , which runs the Rochdale Infirmary, The Royal Oldham Hospital, Fairfield General Hospital and North Manchester General Hospital, said: “We send over 8,000 patient discharge letters a week.

“Currently, 80 per cent of the discharge letters are sent within 24 hours of the patient’s discharge.

“We have a robust system that tracks every patient discharge and monitors when the letter is sent.

“We have improved our performance in this regard and staff continue to work hard towards meeting the national contract standard of 100 per cent of letters being sent within 24 hours.”