A new initiative in Sunderland has seen the local Age UK charity work with vulnerable hospital patients in the city to help ensure they're safe and well when they leave hospital.
Age UK Sunderland has received funding from the city's health and care partnership All Together Better which will see the charity's hospital discharge workers help those recently out of hospital by supporting them with day-to-day tasks like shopping, and also picking up prescriptions and helping someone get to medical appointments.
This comes as the wider NHS struggles with "delayed discharges" - with hospital trusts unable to send otherwise "medically-fit" patients home due to pressures on the social care system. Instead, patients remain in hospital beds and add to the strain on NHS capacity.
