Background 3 25 000 older people live in care homes in the UK, and unplanned emergencies make up 79.7% of their admissions to hospital. In Sutton, we found several issues with the transfer process including incomplete information provided to hospital teams, patients’ belongings lost during admission, and care homes not receiving relevant information on discharge.

Intervention The Red Bag Hospital Transfer Pathway was developed by Sutton Care Homes Vanguard in collaboration with St Helier Hospital and London Ambulance Service to improve the experience of older residents admitted to hospital. We designed a Red Bag that would stay with the patient throughout their journey from care home to hospital and back again, containing standardised paperwork to assist with handover, patients’ belongings (such as dentures and a change of clothes), and on return, the discharge summary and medications. Posters and training films were initially developed and showcased throughout the patient pathway. Hospital staff were given questionnaires after implementation, and feedback was sought through the Care Homes Forum. The hospital now conducts an audit every 6 weeks in order to review progress.

Impact The streamlined transfer process and standardised paperwork improves communication, clinical decision making, and early discharge planning. The initial audit of 179 patients demonstrated a 4 day reduced length of stay for patients with Red Bags (13.4 vs. 17.4 days). Feedback also suggests hospital staff feel better able to provide patient-centred care, improving patients’experiences.

Leadership Lessons Senior decision makers from the partner organisations were involved throughout the development phases, and ensured the pathway was embedded within their respective teams. Ongoing dissemination of data and feedback has also improved communication between organisations, contributing to the continued success of the program.