Jonah Reed has meals arranged, but nobody has agreed to collect his discharge prescription. His home-support letter needs to name that gap and who will resolve it.
Original practice material written by OETify. All people, services and records in this sample are fictional, for writing practice only. By the OETify editorial team.
Home support: agreed help and outstanding work
| Area | Fictional discharge notes |
|---|---|
| Patient | Jonah Reed, aged 58; lives alone; short admission to Alder Medical Ward following a chest infection |
| Discharge and documents | Medical team confirms discharge home today; written instructions and medication list accompany him |
| Ward discussion | Jonah explains the written plan and identifies the ward contact for questions |
| Meals | Neighbour Priya has agreed to leave an evening meal at his door today and tomorrow |
| Shopping | Sister usually shops for Jonah; away until next week; Jonah has groceries for today and tomorrow |
| Prescription | Discharge prescription sent to Meadow Pharmacy; collection remains unarranged; Jonah asks for help arranging it |
| Access | Jonah will answer the door; does not consent to leaving a key with the neighbour |
| Sharing | Agrees to the community team contacting him and Meadow Pharmacy about collection; does not consent to sharing clinical details with Priya |
| Community request | Contact Jonah today to arrange prescription collection and check shopping support after tomorrow |
| Ward responsibility | Clarify questions about discharge instructions through Alder Medical Ward; no treatment change requested |
The discharge task
You are a nurse on Alder Medical Ward. Today is 9 October 2026. Write to Ms Laura Finch, Community Nursing Team Leader, Meadow Home Care, 27 Mill Lane, Alderton. Request help with the outstanding home arrangements within Jonah’s recorded consent. Decide which meal, shopping and access details the team needs to organise that help.
For a separate exercise on describing understanding and prompts, use the Writing guide’s discharge example.
Model letter allocating the outstanding work
Model letter
Ms Laura Finch
Community Nursing Team Leader
Meadow Home Care
27 Mill Lane
Alderton9 October 2026
Dear Ms Finch,
Re: Jonah Reed, aged 58
Mr Reed is being discharged home today after a short admission to Alder Medical Ward following a chest infection, and he needs your team’s support with two outstanding arrangements. Please contact him today to arrange collection of his discharge prescription and to check his shopping support after tomorrow.
His prescription has been sent to Meadow Pharmacy, but collection has not yet been arranged. Mr Reed has asked for help with this and agrees to your team contacting him and the pharmacy about collection. He lives alone and will answer the door himself; he does not consent to leaving a key with his neighbour.
His neighbour, Priya, has agreed to leave an evening meal at his door today and tomorrow, but Mr Reed does not consent to sharing clinical details with her. His sister usually does his shopping but is away until next week. He has groceries for today and tomorrow, so please check what shopping support he needs after that.
His written discharge instructions and medication list accompany him. He can explain the plan and knows how to contact the ward with questions. No treatment change is requested; please contact Alder Medical Ward if the instructions need clarification.
Yours sincerely,
Deepa Nair
Registered Nurse, Alder Medical Ward
Reading the model against the criteria
These notes apply OET’s Writing assessment criteria.
| Criterion | What the model does |
|---|---|
| Purpose | The outstanding collection and shopping work appears immediately. |
| Content | Records permission to contact Jonah and the pharmacy about collection, and keeps his limits: no clinical details shared with Priya and no key left with her. |
| Conciseness and Clarity | Meals get one sentence; the unresolved arrangements get more space. |
| Genre and Style | Jonah’s consent is described directly, without presenting his access choices as a problem with his behaviour. |
| Organisation and Layout | Prescription and access are grouped, then food already supplied is separated from shopping still needed. The team can find each arrangement without rebuilding the ward’s note order. |
| Language | “Has agreed”, “has not yet been arranged” and “is away” mark different states of readiness. Writing “support arranged” for all of them would hide the work still to do. |
Check your draft by circling every person or service assigned an action. Match each action to both an agreement and the relevant permission in Jonah’s notes.
A weaker letter with unclear responsibility
Weaker version (do not copy)
Ms Laura Finch
Community Nursing Team Leader
Meadow Home Care
27 Mill Lane
Alderton9 October 2026
Dear Ms Finch,
Re: Jonah Reed, aged 58
Mr Reed is being discharged home today after a chest infection. His written instructions and medication list accompany him, and he can explain the plan.
A neighbour has arranged meals and his sister usually helps with shopping. His prescription has been sent to Meadow Pharmacy. Please coordinate his home support with the neighbour and pharmacy.
He has groceries for today and tomorrow and will answer the door. His sister is away until next week. Please check that the arrangements are suitable and contact the ward about any discharge questions.
Yours sincerely,
Deepa Nair
Registered Nurse, Alder Medical Ward
“Sent to Meadow Pharmacy” records where the prescription went. It does not say who will collect it. The community request must retain the unresolved collection and Jonah’s request for help.
“Coordinate … with the neighbour” is too broad about Priya’s agreed meal role and Jonah’s consent limits. Priya has agreed to leave meals today and tomorrow; Jonah does not consent to sharing clinical details with her or leaving her a key. The shopping request has a different deadline: groceries cover today and tomorrow, while his sister remains away.
| Keep or shorten | Reason for this letter |
|---|---|
| Keep the meal arrangement briefly | It shows which support is already covered, without assigning Priya further work. |
| Keep groceries and sister’s return together | The dates explain the shopping gap the team must check. |
| Keep the access and sharing limits | They affect how the team can arrange help. |
| Shorten the ward discussion | Jonah’s understanding is recorded; this referral concerns practical arrangements. |