A new local care service in London from leading home care provider, The Good Care Group
What is after surgery care?
After surgery care, also known as postoperative care, is a type of home care that is provided after you have undergone a surgical procedure. The purpose of after surgery care at home is to help ensure that you get the care and support you need to recover in familiar surroundings.
Similarly to other forms of home care, the type of after surgery care you need will depend on several factors, including:
- The type of surgery you’ve undergone
- Your requirements relating to the surgery, for example, ongoing wound care or medication management
- Your general overall health
- The day-to-day support you are likely to need
With some minor surgical procedures, you may be allowed home the same day, but you may still benefit from getting some additional support around the home for a few days after surgery to ensure you can get plenty of rest and take things easy. For more invasive surgical procedures, your recovery is likely to start in hospital with a specialist discharge team monitoring and assessing your progress to help ensure care is in place to help you recover at home.
Like with many types of home care, after surgery home care can be fully tailored to your needs. This means whether you require round-the-clock support from dedicated live-in care or hourly care a few times a day, you can get the care and support needed to support your recovery from surgery.
What are the benefits of after surgery home care?
Many people who have undergone surgery cannot wait to return home to familiar surroundings, and after surgery care can help facilitate this. However, the full range of benefits of after surgery care at home goes beyond this, and can include:
Improved recovery times
Following surgery, you may require help with medical interventions, like catheter care to aid your recovery. Professional after surgery home care services can provide fully-trained carers who can assist with a comprehensive range of medical interventions as well as medication management to ensure you get the support you need to recover efficiently.
Gives you time to recuperate
Having assistance around the home with day-to-day tasks like getting dressed, preparing meals, or light housekeeping following surgery can help ensure you can have a chance to get the rest you need to recover fully.
Lower readmission rates
People with adequate support in place at home tend to experience fewer post-surgical complications and any complications are generally picked up sooner, which can help prevent a readmission to hospital.
Reduced side effects
People who are adequately supported during their recovery often experience fewer side effects from surgery, which in turn can help them recover quicker.
Improves independence
Hospitals often have strict schedules in place to ensure that all patients can be properly cared for. This means things like mealtimes and medication administration are often carried out at set times each day. Visitors are also often restricted to visiting at certain times of the day. Returning home with after surgery care in place means you can return to your usual schedule and get care that is tailored around your preferred daily routine, with no restrictions on when and how many people can visit you.
Frees up hospital beds
People who have undergone surgery may be ‘medically fit’ to return home within a short time post-surgery, but if they don’t have adequate support, they may end up having to stay in hospital for longer than strictly necessary. After surgery care at home ensures people can return home as soon as they are medically well enough, which is often beneficial to the individual but also frees up a bed for another patient.
What does home care after surgery involve?
Home care after surgery can be fully tailored to an individual’s requirements to ensure an effective recovery. It can include everything from day-to-day help with household tasks and personal care to home nurse care after surgery, like wound management.
Common tasks after surgery carers at home can help with include:
Housekeeping
An after surgery carer can help with daily chores around the home, like washing, doing the laundry, and taking the bins out.
Medication assistance
Following a surgical procedure, you may be discharged on medications that you aren’t used to taking or that must be taken at specific times. A carer can help you organise medications and make sure you take them on time.
Delivering groceries
Getting out and about after surgery can be more difficult, but a home carer can help by picking up your shopping or any medications from the pharmacy.
Mobility suppor
After surgery you may not be as confident getting around your home as usual. A home carer can help support you to get back on your feet and ensure you have the support and aids you need to safely navigate your home.
Personal care
With after surgery home care you can get dignified support with your personal care like washing, dressing, toileting, and getting dressed.
Diet compliance
If you have been discharged from hospital and advised to follow a specific diet to aid your recovery from surgery, home carers can help by preparing nutritious meals.
Wound care
Specially trained and nurse-supported carers can assist with wound management following surgery. This can help ensure that any wound complications, such as infection or slow healing, are picked up quickly and appropriate treatment sought from healthcare professionals.
Physical therapy
Specially trained carers can provide support with basic physical therapy to speed up your recovery. Or if you require the specialist services of a physiotherapist or other occupational therapist, a home carer can escort you to appointments.
Types of care available after hospital discharge
At Cherished Home Care, we pride ourselves on understanding and delivering the right type of care for your needs, all in the comfort of the home you cherish. The most popular types of after surgery care at home include:
Temporary home care
Temporary home care is a short-term solution that can provide help with daily responsibilities, personal care, and medication management, which is why it is ideal for people needing support following surgery. Temporary home care can be delivered by either a live-on or visiting carer depending on your needs.
Live-in care
Live-in care provides round-the-clock one-to-one support from a specially trained carer. It offers complete peace of mind as there is always someone available to support you no matter what your post-surgery care needs.
Hourly care
Some people recovering from recent surgery find that hourly care from a carer visiting a few times at key points during the day is more than enough to support their needs.
Complex care
Complex care is ideal for people who require more comprehensive medical support, like catheter care, wound management, or physical therapy post-surgery discharge.
Why choose Cherished Home Care for your post-surgery care?
At Cherished Home Care, we are dedicated to providing the highest quality after surgery home care services that can be tailored to your needs following hospital discharge from a surgical procedure. We offer a range of options suitable for people looking for short-term after surgery care at home, including live-in care, complex care, hourly care, and complex care. All of which can be fully tailored to your specific post-surgery needs.
All our carers are fully trained and carefully selected for their experience and empathy, to ensure they can provide professional, reliable and reassuring care no matter what your needs.
What’s more, we carefully match our live-in carers to suit your needs, interests and personality, as we understand how important it is, you get along with the carer supporting you during your after surgery recovery.
How to arrange home care after surgery?
1. Speak to us
Get in touch with our friendly care advisors today 0203 728 7572, and they will be able to answer all of your questions to help you make the right choice.
2. Free home care assessment
Our team can arrange a free home care assessment with your local care manager, where they can meet with you and assess your needs and requirements in detail.
3. Care begins
Meet your carers and begin your journey with Cherished Home Care. With minimal carer changes, you’ll soon be acquainted.