Discharge from LHCH
Day of discharge
On most occasions, you will know when it is planned for you to go home a few days in advance. This allows you and your care partners to prepare. Before you leave the hospital, you will be taken through a summary of your medications, when and how to take them and what they are for. A two week supply of all medications including painkillers is normally provided which should give you time to arrange repeat prescription from your GP. They will be faxed your new medication list. You will also be given a discharge letter summarising your stay in hospital.
LHCH aims to have all patients home in time for lunch, but if your medications are changed at the last minute for clinical reasons, this can sometimes delay how quickly you are ready to leave.
Discharge home
Most patients will be discharged from LHCH back to their own homes. Sometimes it is necessary to arrange additional support from social services to provide appliances that make the house suitable for your medical needs. Examples include installing rails in the bathroom if you are unsteady or a commode if the toilet is up a flight of stairs.
If you previously lived alone at home, you may wish to ask someone to come and stay with you whilst you are recuperating. Alternatively you may want to stay with a relative or a friend in the first few days. However, most patients who live alone will be able to return home as normal - cardiac surgery services are now geared towards getting people back to their own homes and independence as soon as possible.
Occasionally, people will need additional help with everyday activities such as washing and dressing in the mornings. These are assessed by the local social services and Occupational Therapists and are not governed or organised by LHCH.
Please note that the following are NOT normally arranged by social services:
- domestic help such as cleaning the home or ironing
- shopping or shopping delivery
- companion visits
Discharge back to another hospital or intermediate care for rehabilitation
If you are not medically fit to go directly home and you do not require the specific expertise of the surgical team at LHCH, you are sometimes sent back to your referring or local hospital for ongoing care or rehabilitation. This allows you to benefit from the services that hospitals with a broader range of specialities can have (for example general medicine, rehab physiotherapy etc) and also allows patients who need surgical care to benefit from our specific expertise.