Two hospitals in Kent have launched ‘discharge lounges’ which offer space to patients who no longer require urgent care to free up hospital beds.

The areas have already opened at Darent Valley Hospital in Dartford and the Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Hospital in Margate.

They will be available for patients who are due to be discharged that day but are waiting for medication or transportation.

This helps free up beds and reduce waits for patients waiting to be admitted from A&E.

The lounges are also hoped to improve patient experience by creating more space in hospitals and offering a more comfortable environment.

There will be TVs, hot meals and discharge lounge nurses to attend to people’s needs.

Nationally, the new facilities are backed by £50 million funding announced by the Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay in January to help free up hospital beds and cut down on waiting times for patients ahead of next winter.

The South East is receiving more than £2 million in funding.

The region is receiving six of the discharge lounges, two of which are in Kent. In total, 42 are opening across the country to provide 439 additional beds, 364 chairs and 44 extra trolleys in hospitals.

Darent Valley Hospital received £240,000 to convert its discharge lounge and provide an additional seven beds, and more than 400 patients have already benefited.

The Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Hospital received £185,000.

The £50 million investment also includes funding for six new ambulance hubs, although none have been announced for Kent.

Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay said: “These new ambulance hubs and discharge lounges are another example of how we’re investing to cut waiting times – one of the government’s top five priorities.

All of this is to ensure we can bring down waiting times and prepare for next winter...

“They are already benefiting tens of thousands of patients by freeing up beds and reducing the time for patients waiting to be admitted from A&E.

“The hubs will allow ambulances to manoeuvre more quickly and cut out unnecessary delays, and the lounges will free up hospital beds, while offering patients a more comfortable environment to recover in while they’re waiting to leave hospital.

“All of this is to ensure we can bring down waiting times and prepare for next winter.”

Sarah-Jane Marsh, NHE England’s national director of Integrated Urgent and Emergency Care, said: “The hard work of health and social care teams across the country has meant we have seen improvements in ambulance response times and A&E performance since December, despite the impact of seasonal viruses, industrial action, and higher than usual bed occupancy.

“These dedicated spaces, alongside the range of actions we have outlined in our urgent and emergency care recovery plan, including thousands of new beds, hundreds of new ambulances and measures to help treat more people in the community, will help us further improve patient experience and help avoid unnecessary hospital admissions ahead of next winter.”