The winter months are always more busy for hospitals which can lead to short-term shortages of staff to even let people leave the building and return home.

Thankfully for Lewisham University Hospital, they were able to rely on British Red Cross to lend a helping hand in their hour of need.

Red Cross staff helped transport over 180 people from the hospital back home between the months of January and March.

The service both helped patients transition back to their day-to-day lives while also freeing up bed space and other hospital resources.

Eve Stamate, operations manager for independent living at the Red Cross, said: “Our team members worked really closely with the hospital staff to identify patients who needed help to get home. The team gave reassurance to patients in the hospitals, helped prepare them to leave, accompanied patients to their homes, and made sure they were comfortable and had everything they needed close at hand.

“Simple things like checking they had food in the cupboards, that the heating was on, and someone knew they were home really helped to make the person feel safe and less vulnerable.

"These small, low cost, non-clinical interventions can often make the difference between someone being able to stay at home and having to go back into hospital."

Meredith Deane, deputy chief operating officer of Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust, said: “We are really pleased to work in partnership with the British Red Cross team.

"This fantastic service means we can be reassured that our patients are leaving hospital safely and with the right kind of support.”