Discharge Grant Scheme

A HD Grant is an agreed amount of money to support your short-term health and wellbeing needs based on information collated as part of your personalised care and support plan.

A one-off HD Grant will be made to cover a maximum period of 4 weeks for your agreed short-term care and support.

CHS Healthcare are an independent provider that have been commissioned to complete the personalised care and support plans prior to discharge. Their staff are qualified practitioners and have a wealth of experience in completing these types of assessments.

Payment will be made into your designated Bank Account as a one-off Direct Payment within 5 working days of the grant being agreed.

Examples include:

• If you have family members who would be able to care for you during the day, but they have children, the grant could be used to fund before/after school clubs to enable their children to be looked after whilst they look after you or be used to pay for a babysitter to free up some time in the evening for them to look after you
• If you have family members who have pets that require walking, the grant could be used to pay a dog walker so that their pets are exercised, freeing up their time to look after you
• Sometimes family members who could look after you might find it difficult to cover the cost of fuel or taxi fares. The grant payment could be used to off-set that cost.
• The one-off purchase of equipment to support you during your initial recovery at home where this equipment cannot be sourced through the existing equipment services.
• You could pay a family member to provide short term care for you this may be to assist you with you daily routines such as getting washed and dressed, helping you to get a meal or supporting you to get into bed and settled for the night.
• You could use this money to pay a family member if they have taken a break from their regular work to care for you

The Hospital Discharge Grant payment cannot be used to:

• Pay for everyday expenses like food and drinks, clothing, housing related expenses such as rent, utility bills or repairs
• Withdraw cash
• Repay a debt
• Purchase primary medical services (such as diagnostic tests, vaccinations, immunisation, screening or general medical treatment)
• Purchase urgent or emergency treatment services (such as unplanned hospital admissions)
• Purchase planned surgical procedures
• Pay for certain charges relating to dental treatments, optical appliances, medical appliances or pharmaceutical products or services, as the NHS already funds these services through existing contracts
• OR be used in ways that would bring the CCG into disrepute (for example drugs, alcohol, tobacco, gambling services/facilities or anything illegal)

Individuals may require support on discharge to regain confidence and independence. The Discharge Grant Scheme promotes personalised care enabling the individual to be in control of how the care is delivered. The Discharge Grant may be used to pay a family member, friend, or private carer to provide the support identified. A Support Plan will be agreed prior to discharge which will identify the individual’s support needs and the value of the grant.

There will be scheduled calls from CHS Healthcare to check how the care is going, if there is an identified change in your condition that requires an increase in the care agreed then this should be discussed with your allocated worker from Home first of Reablement.  An urgent referral may be made to the Rapid Response Service. If you identify a deterioration in your health, you should contact your GP.

You will be under the care of your GP so you will need to contact your GP if you become unwell. If it is a medical emergency then you should contact 999.

If it is identified that you will require an ongoing package of care to support you then a Care Act Assessment will be carried out to identify your long term care needs by the Local Authority. A Financial Assessment will be completed to identify if you are required to pay or contribute towards the care you will receive.

Any benefits that you receive may be affected by this grant, it is your responsibility to advise the Department of Work and Pensions of this additional income.

The money will be paid directly into your bank account by our payment partner within 5 working days of the Discharge Grant being agreed.

You can contact the Patient Advice and Complaints Team (PACT) on 0300 200 8844 if you have concerns that BESSW Partnership has not fulfilled its offer of the Discharge Grant Scheme.

Individuals may require support on discharge to regain confidence and independence. The Discharge Grant Scheme promotes personalised care enabling the individual to be in control of how the care is delivered. The Discharge Grant may be used to pay a family member, friend, or private carer to provide the support identified. A Support Plan will be agreed prior to discharge which will identify the individual’s support needs and the value of the grant.

The Discharge Grant may impact the way you are taxed. You will need to notify HMRC of the additional income.

The Discharge Grant is a form of payment therefore you will need to declare it on your next tax return.

Everybody who is discharged home from hospital will have continued support from their GP. You will therefore need to contact their GP if they become unwell. If it is a medical emergency, then you should call 999.

There will be scheduled calls from CHS Healthcare to check how the care is going, if there is an identified change in their condition requiring an increase in the care agreed then this should be discussed with the allocated worker in Homefirst or Reablement.  They may advise an urgent referral is made to the Rapid Response service. If you identify a deterioration in the health of the person you are caring for then you should contact their GP or if it appears urgent call 999 or 111 for advice.

Any benefits that you receive may be affected by this grant, you will need to advise the Department of Work and Pensions of this additional income.

The aim of the scheme is to support people to resume their normal routines and level of independence. If you feel there is a recognised need for ongoing support, this will be addressed on a case by case basis. It is anticipated that during the 4 week period assessments will have been completed and appropriate referrals made.