Weekend Discharge Planning Audit

This project audits the quality, completeness and reliability of weekend and bank-holiday discharge planning. It reviews whether likely weekend discharges are identified in advance and whether expected discharge date, criteria to reside, outstanding actions and owners, medicines, therapy and equipment, transport, social care and community referrals, patient and carer communication, escalation arrangements and weekend handover are documented clearly enough to support safe, timely transitions of care.

• Acute medicine, general internal medicine and specialty inpatient teams
• Frailty, geriatric medicine and rehabilitation teams
• Nurses, ward leaders, discharge coordinators, pharmacists and therapy teams
• Site management, patient flow and integrated discharge teams
• QI leads, governance teams and educators

• Measure documentation of weekend discharge identification, expected discharge date and criteria to reside
• Assess whether outstanding actions, owners, medicines, therapy, transport and community referrals are recorded
• Assess escalation arrangements and weekend handover of the discharge plan
• Identify variation by clinical area / location and optional specialty / service
• Generate governance-ready and ARCP-ready evidence

• Anonymous case identifier
• Inclusion / eligibility decision
• Anonymised biodata (age band, recorded sex/gender, care setting, assessment context)
• Clinical area / location and optional specialty / service
• Fifteen weekend discharge planning criteria (met / not met / not applicable)
• Free-text learning points and any project custom fields

• Live dashboard
• Audit report (Word)
• Executive summary (Word)
• Excel workbook
• PowerPoint presentation
• Conference poster
• ARCP evidence summary

This ready-built project is developed using the guidance, standards and authoritative sources listed below, so you can see what is being measured and why. Lazomis QI does not publish or own this guidance, and inclusion here does not imply endorsement or approval by any of these organisations.

• NHS England / Department of Health and Social Care

  Hospital discharge and community support guidance(opens the original source in a new tab)

  National expectations for discharge planning, discharge processes and community support arrangements, where currently applicable.

• NHS England

  Criteria to reside and discharge-ready status(opens the original source in a new tab)

  National framing for reviewing whether a patient continues to meet criteria to reside and is ready for discharge.

• Designed to use anonymised or pseudonymised audit identifiers.
• This tool supports, but does not replace, clinical judgement.
• Local policy, formulary and specialist advice should be followed.
• Organisations remain responsible for local governance arrangements.
• This tool supports, but does not replace, clinical judgement. Follow local policy, formulary and specialist advice.
• Use anonymous case identifiers only — never patient-identifiable information.

Supporting guidance from the Lazomis QI Resource Library. Authoritative clinical standards referenced by this project remain separate.

• Patient FlowImproving Board Round Effectiveness for Enhanced Patient FlowThis article outlines practical strategies for NHS teams to enhance the effectiveness of board rounds, fostering better patient flow, streamlined decision-making, and improved multidisciplinary team communication. It provides actionable advice for clinical leads and operational managers looking to optimise this critical daily meeting.
• Patient FlowOptimising Patient Flow Through Effective Board RoundsEffective board rounds are a cornerstone of efficient patient flow within NHS hospitals, facilitating coordinated care and reducing bottlenecks. This guide explores their strategic implementation and common challenges.
• Quality ImprovementPlanning Effective PDSA Cycles for Quality ImprovementThis guide provides a practical, step-by-step approach to planning effective Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycles for quality improvement initiatives within the NHS, focusing on robust design and learning. It covers essential considerations from defining your aim to anticipating challenges, helping teams systematically test changes.
• Patient FlowOptimising Hospital Flow: The Critical Role of Effective Board RoundsEffective board rounds are a cornerstone of efficient hospital operations, playing a crucial role in coordinating patient care, managing risks, and optimising patient flow. This resource explores the key elements that contribute to a successful board round and provides practical guidance for their implementation.