Arranging care after a hospital discharge
Rest and recover in the safety of home with our bespoke care after hospital discharge
While many people can’t wait to leave hospital after a prolonged stay, it can also be a daunting prospect. Whether you have been staying in hospital due to an illness or have recently undergone surgery, it’s important to ensure you have the right care in place on discharge to enable you to recuperate fully.
Although you may be classed as medically fit to return home upon discharge, you may not be able to complete some day-to-day tasks yourself, or you may still need support with medication or occupational therapy. This is where home help after surgery can play an important role in your recovery.
In this helpful guide, we explain how to arrange care after hospital discharge, how hospital staff can help put the right care in place before you leave hospital, and how you can access six weeks free home care after a hospital stay through the NHS.
How are elderly patients discharged from hospital?
The priority for elderly people being discharged from hospital is to ensure that they have care in place at home to keep them safe and provide the support they need to aid their recovery.
The process for discharging elderly patients from hospital in the UK begins whilst they are still in hospital. Elderly patients undergo a series of assessments from a specialist hospital discharge team. The purpose of these assessments is to get a clear idea of what assistance elderly people require upon discharge. The assessments will often look at how well a person can complete day-to-day activities such as:
- Going to the toilet
- Making a hot drink
- Walking around unaided by another person (their mobility)
Assessing an elderly person’s ability to safely complete daily tasks ensures that the right after-hospital care for the elderly can be put in place. This helps aid their recovery and can help prevent unnecessary readmission due to trips or falls.
What will hospital staff do to prepare me for discharge?
UK hospitals have specific discharge teams that ensure a hospital discharge care plan is put in place to manage the safe transfer of care for people returning home following a hospital stay. Whether you need home help after surgery or following an illness, the process for arranging care after hospital discharge will run the same.
All UK hospitals follow a procedure called ‘discharge to assess’ which helps them review the level of care a person needs after hospital discharge.
While the exact process for discharge varies, generally you will only be discharged from hospital after:
- A discharge assessment of your immediate needs has been completed
- A senior member of medical staff has declared you medically fit for discharge
- A short-term care plan has been created for those with specific or ongoing health needs
- The care plan has been implemented, for example, the right level of care after hospital discharge has been arranged and any home adaptations or assessment for adaptations has been organised
Do you get six weeks free care?
In the UK, it is possible to get six weeks free care after hospital discharge. This is known as intermediate or reablement care and the cost of this short-term care is covered by the NHS.
Intermediate care is designed to:
- Aid timelier discharge from hospital
- Free hospital beds of patients who are ‘medically fit’
- Enable people to recover in more comfortable surroundings
- Reduce readmission rates
- Deliver more positive recovery outcomes
In most circumstances intermediate care is provided in a person’s own home, enabling them to return to familiar surroundings and recuperate in the comfort of home. However, if their home is not suitable, reablement care can be provided for a short-term period in an acute hospital or other community health service.
The level of care after hospital discharge provided by intermediate care will depend on an individual’s needs and what is available in their local area. It could include regular visits from carers to assist with daily household tasks like getting up and dressed, as well as visits from clinical or social care staff who can assist with medical interventions or provide occupational therapy.
In many cases, people don’t need the full six weeks of free care; however, for some, ongoing care will be required.
If you think you or your loved one will require ongoing care and support, you should reach out to your local social care team who will be able to complete an assessment of long-term care needs and start the process for initiating longer-term care. Ideally, you should do this as soon as possible to ensure that ongoing care can be put in place before the six weeks free care after hospital discharge ends.
At Cherished Homecare, we offer a range of longer-term home care options, to ensure that no matter what your requirements post hospital discharge, we can provide you or your loved one with the ongoing care and support that’s needed.
How do I arrange care at home?
Arranging care at home for people who have recently been discharged from hospital starts with thinking about the type of care you or your loved one need. If you or your loved one received six weeks free care after hospital discharge, this can provide a good indication of what support has been most beneficial.
Once you’ve thought about the kind of care and support you or your loved one might benefit from following hospital discharge, the next step is to arrange a Care Needs Assessment. Your local council can provide this, or you can contact a home care provider like Cherished Homecare, to get a free care assessment.
A Care Needs Assessment provides an impartial assessment of needs, which can be helpful if you or your loved ones are struggling to identify exactly what care after hospital discharge would be most beneficial. It often includes an assessment of your:
- Current living arrangements
- Health and ability to perform day-to-day tasks
- Cultural and religious background
- Existing support network
- How you or your loved one would like to be supported
- Information from healthcare professionals about your needs
Once a care needs assessment has taken place you can start to explore your long-term care options and which providers may be best.
What if my loved one needs to go to a care home?
Following recovery from a hospital stay it may become clear that you or your loved one cannot live independently at home. You may think that a care home is the only option to deliver the kind of support and care that is required. However, with so many different types of home care available, this is unlikely to be the case.
At Cherished Home Care, we’re committed to providing choices to ensure you or your loved one get the care they deserve. We offer a range of options suitable for people looking for long-term care after hospital discharge, including live-in care, complex care, hourly care, and elderly care to provide comprehensive, fully tailored support no matter what your needs.
After hospital discharge from Cherished
At Cherished Home Care, we are dedicated to providing the highest quality 24/7 home care services tailored to your needs following hospital discharge and beyond. 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 that you get along with the carer moving into your home.
H2 Find a home carer local to you
If you are looking for a home carer local to you or your loved one, get in touch with Cherished Home Care. We offer local, bespoke care in your home and are committed to enabling you or your loved one to live on your terms at home.