OT Discharge Reports in Ireland: Structure and Worked Example
An OT discharge report in Ireland should make the end of an episode understandable to the person, the referrer and the next professional involved. The reader needs to see the original reason for occupational therapy, the functional outcomes and any work that remains outstanding. Ending an episode does not necessarily mean every goal was achieved.
This guide offers a practical writing structure and an original fictional example. It is for occupational therapists documenting their own episode of care, not for replacing a whole-hospital discharge summary or making decisions on another profession’s behalf.
Contents
Progress report, OT discharge report or hospital discharge summary?
A progress report describes the current position while an episode continues. An OT discharge report records why that episode ends, what has been achieved and what happens next. A hospital discharge summary brings together information across the admission and has a wider purpose.
The HIQA discharge-summary standard published in 2013 concerns hospital-to-primary-care information, including functional status and future management. It is useful context, not a universal OT template. Check your service’s current requirements; this guide does not treat a consultation draft or historical publication as proof of the latest local policy.
A practical structure for the OT episode
Write for the next decision the reader needs to make. Put the reason for discharge and the outstanding actions where they can be found quickly. Then support the summary with the assessment evidence, interventions and goal outcomes.
Section 18 of the CORU occupational therapists’ code sets expectations for clear, accurate records, prompt completion, dates and times, and identifiable authorship. The layout below is an editorial aid, not a CORU-mandated set of headings.
- Identity and episode: correct person, referral purpose, assessment dates, report date, completion time and intended recipient.
- Priorities: the person’s goals and the activities or environments the episode addressed.
- Evidence: baseline and most recent findings, with sources, dates, context and limitations.
- Work completed: interventions delivered, equipment trialled and the response actually recorded.
- Outcome: goal status and the reason this episode is ending, without implying that all needs have ended.
- Next steps: agreed actions, responsible service or person, communication status and relevant review arrangements.
Worked example: compare function in context
All details below are fictional and demonstrate writing structure only. The table does not recommend treatment or establish that discharge would be appropriate. Different contexts must remain visible; a clinic observation should not silently become a statement about independent function at home.
| Activity and source | Earlier finding | Latest finding and limit |
|---|---|---|
| Dressing, OT observations on 2 and 16 October | Assistance was recorded for part of the observed routine. | The agreed sequence was completed with prompting. The report records the setting and prompting used, not simply “independent”. |
| Meal preparation, person’s account on 16 October | The person described difficulty starting their usual routine. | The person reported using the agreed checklist. This was not observed by the OT. |
| Bathroom access, home assessment on 9 October | An environmental barrier was recorded during the visit. | No reassessment after building works is recorded. Do not describe the barrier as resolved. |
Turn the comparison into a clear discharge narrative
Fictional excerpt: “During the observed dressing routine on 16 October, the person completed the agreed sequence with prompting. Use of the meal-preparation checklist was reported by the person and has not been observed in the home. The bathroom barrier identified on 9 October remains an outstanding issue in this record.”
For a complete report, identify the agreed follow-up owner and accurately state whether any referral has been sent or accepted. The useful distinction is between an outcome, a report from another person and an action that is not complete. Do not convert a referral request into an accepted service, a recommendation into delivered equipment, or a proposed adaptation into a completed installation.
Where the outstanding need is environmental, link the reasoning to the appropriate assessment. The Housing Adaptation Grant report guide and moving-and-handling assessment guide address different decisions; a discharge paragraph is not a replacement for either assessment.
Make follow-up usable for the receiving team
The HSE Length of Stay Optimisation Guideline describes early hospital discharge planning, communication across the team and involvement of patients and carers. For an OT report, the practical writing lesson is to make responsibility and outstanding actions explicit. Do not copy hospital timing targets into an unrelated community episode.
If equipment is involved, state what was assessed, recommended, ordered, delivered or checked. These are separate stages. Consult the Irish equipment and seating guide, including its current-source limitations, and confirm the receiving service’s own process.
- Confirm the recipient and the information-sharing basis before sending the report.
- Check that each outstanding action has an accurate owner and status, or explicitly record that these are not yet agreed.
- Use the actual practitioner’s name, professional designation, CORU registration details, report date and completion time.
- Keep uncertainty visible and have the responsible OT review the final record before signing.
Frequently asked questions
Is there one compulsory OT discharge-report template in Ireland?
This guide does not identify one universal template. Follow your service’s current document requirements and CORU obligations. A hospital discharge information standard is not automatically the required layout for every OT episode.
What if a goal is not achieved at discharge?
Record its actual status, the reason the episode is ending and the agreed next steps. Do not mark a goal achieved just because the episode has closed.
Can Carearoo draft an Irish OT discharge report?
Progress and Discharge is one of the available Irish report types. The practitioner provides the findings, checks the resulting draft and signs the final report. The country page distinguishes available types from those still in development.
How this guide was written
AI-assisted educational writing informed by the linked CORU, HSE and HIQA publications, checked on 22 October 2026. The example is fictional. Not independently clinically reviewed. This is an editorial structure, not an official HSE form or a substitute for local policy.
Explore Irish OT report drafting
Progress and Discharge is available alongside the other supported Irish report types. Start with your own evidence and template, then review and sign the draft. Your first report is free.