Preparing for your stay in hospital During your stay in hospital Planning your discharge from hospital Services for you and your visitors Our commitment to same sex accommodation Rearrange or cancel a planned stay in hospital

Preparing for discharge

 

You might be surprised that from an early stage we encourage you to be involved in planning your discharge. When you are admitted, staff will work together to assess your health and social care needs in preparation for being discharged from hospital. This by no means implies that your treatment will be rushed or ended prematurely. You will not be discharged until the medical team treating you has decided that you are well enough to leave.

 

You need to be aware however, that beds at this hospital are classed as “acute" this means that we encourage patients to leave them as soon as they are well enough to. The majority of patients return home when they are well enough. Some, however, will need one or more of the following additional supports:

• Period of rehabilitation in another hospital
• Temporary or long term placement in a residential home or nursing home
• Carer support at home or day care
• Intermediate care such as Community Occupational Therapist or District Nurse at home
• Outpatient services
• Home adaptations or additional equipment

We will assist you in planning your hospital discharge. Shortly after you are admitted the nurse will ask you for some information about your home environment and the support you have. We might seek your permission to refer you to the Discharge Planning Team. A Care Manager or Discharge Planning Sister can then assess your needs and help plan your discharge.

 

If you are concerned about how you are going to cope, please take this opportunity to discuss what you are worried about. Your nursing team are also there to help.

 

The hospital will try and tell you a day or two in advance of when you can expect to go home.

 

On the day you leave hospital

• You will be given a discharge letter or summary for your GP. Your consultant will write to your GP explaining the treatment you have received, current medication and recommendations for your care in the future.
• You will have a supply of medicine from the hospital pharmacy, but you will need to talk to your GP if you need to get further supplies of your medicine.
• If you need to return to an outpatient clinic, the date and time will either be given to you before you leave the hospital or a few days after your return home.

 

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Before you go, please

• Give your nurses an address to which mail can be forwarded
• Make sure you ask the ward clerk for the appropriate certificate of discharge (Med 3 or Med 10) for your employer or the Department of Social Security.
• Make sure you don't have any hospital linen or clothing
• Return your library books
• Make sure you have collected any belongings from the safe
• Make sure you take all your belongings with you.

If you have been given any crutches or aids to take home with you, please remember to return them to the hospital after you have finished them.

 

The hospital runs a scheme in partnership with Boots the Chemist so if you have been loaned crutches, walking sticks and frames by the hospital, you can return them to your local Boots store at your convenience.

 

Equipment may also be returned to your GP.

 

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Discharge Checklist

 

Please ask a relative or carer to bring in a full set of outdoor clothes for you before you leave hospital. On the day of discharge there are important practical considerations. Please check the following:

• Has suitable transport been arranged?
• Have medication needs been clarified, discussed with you and where possible your carer?
• Is sufficient medication available on the day of discharge?
• Do you understand what your medications are for and how to take them?
• Have you and/or your carer received training so that new aids/equipment can be used safely at home?
• Will the aids/equipment be available on the day of discharge?
• Have continence products been provided to meet assessed needs?
• If you are leaving hospital to go to a care home, has the necessary health information and equipment been made available to them?
• Let your neighbours know as soon as possible that you are returning home.

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Medication you will take home

 

When you are ready to go home all the medicines you need should be ready for you in your locker. A Pharmacy technician will check the contents and match them to the prescription, as soon as possible, after it is written.

 

When a doctor says you can go home they will not always be able to immediately write a prescription. On many wards the pharmacist may also be involved in doing this. Until the prescription is ready, the checking cannot begin. Everyone tries their best to do this as soon as possible.

 

If any extra supplies are needed from Pharmacy, then the prescription has to be taken down to the department. There are many requests each day and often the work will need to queue in turn. The prescription will normally take about 20 minutes to be dispensed, but may be queuing for a couple of hours if the department has received a large amount of work. The best approach is for medicines to be ordered the day before you are due to go home and we try to ensure this happens.

 

We receive complaints about waits for medicines and we are doing a lot to try and streamline the process.

 

We have tried to ensure that Pharmacy staff are on all our wards to help organise and check what you need. You can arrange to pick up medicines later if that would be more convenient. Just mention this to your nurse or the pharmacy member of staff .

 

Appendix A tells you about the medication you are taking home with you. It will be explained to you. Please ask if there is anything you do not understand.

 

There are now medication boxes available from your chemist, these help to remind you to take the right tablet and dose at the right time.

 

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Patient Medications Helpline: 01223 274616

 

The Medicines Information Department also provides a telephone helpline for patients. Monday - Friday 1000 – 1130 hours and 1500 - 1630 hours .

 

Telephone: 01223 274616

 

We can answer questions on medicines:

• given to you by Addenbrooke's Hospital
• how and when to take them
• taking other medicines
• whether you can drink alcohol with your medicine
• problems your medicines may cause

We cannot answer questions on:

• medicines from your own doctor
• your illness
• other people's medicines

Out of hours, information about medicines is also available from NHS Direct on telephone number 0845 4647

> NHS Direct

 

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Home services arrangements

 

The following services may need to be arranged for you:

• District nurse
• Health visitor
• Meals on wheels
• Home help
• Day centre
• Day hospital
• Out-patients follow up
• Community occupational therapy
• Equipment/loan store
• Community speech and language therapy
• Other

 

Staff will discuss this with you if appropriate

 

 

Welcome Home from Hospital

 

Welcome Home from Hospital provides short-term practical support to ease the transition from hospital to home.

> Welcome Home from Hospital

 

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Further treatment

 

If you need an outpatient review, you will either be given these details before you leave the ward or an appointment letter will be posted to you.

 

 

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Getting you home

 

If possible, please arrange for someone to come and pick you up from the hospital. If this cannot be arranged, let a member of the ward staff know and they can arrange for a taxi for you at your own expense. Ward staff can also arrange for a wheelchair and porter to take you to your transport if required.

 

An ambulance can only be provided if you meet specific medical or health criteria. There may also be a wait depending on availability and you may not be taken straight home if there are several discharges to deal with.

 

 

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