Barriers to Discharge
The terms ‘housing’ and ‘the NDIS’ are frequently used as reasons for discharge delay for people in hospital. However, discharge barriers are usually more complex than this.
If ‘housing’ is the barrier - what is it about housing that’s causing challenges? Being as specific as possible when identifying the barrier to discharge will provide a better understanding of the required next steps.
A Housing Hub survey of hospital clinicians in 2023 found that the housing market is one of six common barriers to discharge for NDIS participants stuck in hospital. The other barriers include:
- Communication between stakeholders
- Understanding roles and responsibilities
- Report writing and evidence requirements
- Inconsistencies in NDIS decision making
- Lengthy decision making timeframes
Top Tips and Tricks
- Consider why a person cannot return home, or why they can’t discharge to an interim setting. The answer will usually lead you to identify discharge barriers other than a lack of ‘bricks and mortar’ housing.
- Consider what information or resources a provider needs to confidently provide housing and support to your participant.
- It’s never too early to start. Don’t wait until someone is ‘discharge ready’ to explore housing options.
Case Study
Amir and his support team were having trouble finding housing for discharge. Despite having Supported Independent Living (SIL) funding, applications for vacant properties kept being rejected.
When the occupational therapist followed up with one provider to query why the application was rejected, the provider reported being concerned about managing behaviours of concern, as there was no Behaviour Support Plan (BSP) in place. The hospital team did not think a behaviour support plan was required, because there were no restrictive practices being used in the hospital setting.
As a result, there was no funding in the NDIS plan for positive behaviour support. The multidisciplinary team needed to submit new evidence to the NDIA for a plan review to include behaviour support funding. By the time the BSP was completed, discharge had been delayed by 3 months.
View the PDF version of the Barriers to Discharge resource: