A part of social work and apart from social work: hospital nurses in hospital discharges of older people in Sweden

The aim of this study was to reveal how hospital nurses handle the process when older people are considering relocation to a residential home after hospitalization. The focus is of special interest as, in Sweden, hospital nurses are employed by a county council without the authority to decide on local municipal care after hospital discharge. Ten nurses from three hospital wards participated in open semi-structured interviews. The findings showed that the hospital nurses supported patients in brief talks when possible, made a mark in discreet ways and dealt with formal and informal inter-professional procedures. Examples of hospital nurses’ contributions and limitations in relation to social work and of rivalries and collaborations between hospital nurses and care managers were identified. For a better understanding and thereby implementation of practice and policy principles for older people, more research is needed on how care managers on their part perceive their positioning in hospital discharge planning. Additionally, further research is needed at an overall level on how to strengthen the social work practice with hospitalized older people.