Question 1

Is this patient discharge survey template free?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Free forever with no signup required from you or your patients. Up to 100 responses per survey on the free plan. Pro ($19/month) allows 10,000 responses and response timeline analytics for tracking discharge quality across wards and time periods.

Question 2

What questions should a patient discharge survey include?

Accepted Answer

A good patient discharge survey covers: how clearly discharge instructions were explained, how confident patients feel managing their care at home, how well medications were explained, whether follow-up appointments were arranged before leaving, support with transport or logistics, overall quality of care during the admission, whether any concerns were addressed before discharge, and whether patients would recommend the ward or hospital. This template covers all nine dimensions.

Question 3

How is a patient discharge survey different from a general patient satisfaction survey?

Accepted Answer

A general patient satisfaction survey measures the overall care relationship: communication across the whole stay, treatment quality, staff attitudes, and environment. A patient discharge survey focuses specifically on the transition from hospital to home. The questions are about discharge instructions, medication clarity, confidence going home, and follow-up arrangements. These are the factors that most affect whether a patient recovers well and whether they need to be readmitted.

Question 4

Can NHS trusts use this survey for Friends and Family Test purposes?

Accepted Answer

The Friends and Family Test (FFT) is a specific NHS England requirement and has a defined question format. This template is a supplementary discharge-focused survey that gives you more detailed insight than the FFT alone. The recommendation question (Q8) covers similar ground to the FFT, but this template should not be used as a substitute for the mandatory FFT. Run both: the FFT for compliance, this survey for actionable discharge quality data.

Question 5

When should hospitals send the patient discharge survey?

Accepted Answer

Within 24 to 48 hours of discharge while the experience is fresh and any gaps in instructions or arrangements are still apparent. Send via text message to the mobile number recorded on admission. Response rates for discharge surveys sent within 24 hours are typically 35 to 50 percent, dropping to under 20 percent after 72 hours.

Question 6

Should patient discharge surveys be anonymous?

Accepted Answer

For general discharge quality data, yes. Anonymous surveys produce more candid responses about problems with instructions, medication explanations, or discharge arrangements. For cases where you want to follow up on unresolved concerns or near-misses identified in the survey, non-anonymous mode allows optional contact collection with patient consent. Never link specific negative responses to identifiable patients without their explicit consent.

Question 7

What is a 30-day readmission and how does this survey help reduce it?

Accepted Answer

A 30-day readmission is when a patient returns to hospital within 30 days of discharge, often due to inadequate discharge planning or unclear home care instructions. Studies consistently show that poor discharge instruction clarity and low confidence going home are the primary predictors of unplanned readmission. Improving scores on Question 2 (confidence going home) and Question 3 (medication explanation) through better discharge processes is one of the most effective ways to reduce avoidable readmissions.

Question 8

Can this survey be used for community and intermediate care services?

Accepted Answer

Yes. The template works for any care setting where patients are discharged home or to a step-down facility: acute hospital wards, community hospitals, day surgery, intermediate care, rehabilitation units, and mental health inpatient units. Adjust the introduction to match your specific setting and replace 'hospital' with your service name as appropriate.

Question 9

How do I use discharge survey data to improve patient safety?

Accepted Answer

Focus on Questions 2 (confidence going home) and 7 (concerns addressed before leaving). Consistently low scores on confidence going home indicate that discharge planning is starting too late or that written instructions are not being provided or explained clearly. Low scores on concerns addressed suggest that patients are leaving with unresolved questions, which is a patient safety risk. Both dimensions should be reviewed in clinical governance meetings and linked to readmission data.

Question 10

Can carers and family members complete this survey on behalf of the patient?

Accepted Answer

Yes. For patients who are unable to complete the survey themselves due to age, cognitive impairment, or health condition, a carer or family member can complete it on their behalf. This is particularly important for elderly patients, those with dementia, and paediatric patients whose parents are often better placed to assess whether discharge arrangements were adequate and clearly explained.

Question 11

What is discharge planning and why does it matter for survey scores?

Accepted Answer

Discharge planning is the process of preparing a patient to leave hospital safely, including arranging any ongoing care, equipment, medications, follow-up appointments, and written instructions. It should begin on or before admission, not on the day of discharge. Hospitals that start discharge planning early consistently score higher on patient confidence, instruction clarity, and follow-up arrangement questions. The survey data can identify which wards or services are leaving discharge planning too late.

Free Patient Discharge
Survey Template

All 9 Discharge Survey Questions

Three Areas of Discharge Quality

Simple to Deploy, Immediately Actionable

Your Discharge Quality Dashboard

Frequently Asked Questions

Catch the gaps before patients go home

Free Patient DischargeSurvey Template