Going home from hospital

When the person you care for is ready to leave hospital, you will need to plan and prepare for their future care.

Options for care after hospital

When the person leaves hospital, they may go:

• home, with the usual care from you or other carers
• home, with extra help such as a community care package
• to an aged care home, either for a short time or permanently
• into rehabilitation, where they will get further treatment before they can go home
• into palliative care

Making plans for leaving hospital

Hospital staff will help to make sure going home or somewhere else goes as smoothly as possible. You will need to talk with hospital staff, and may also need to talk with your doctor, other members of your family, or social services. You need to talk about and plan:

• the person’s future care needs
• follow-up tests, appointments and medicines
• any equipment or changes to their home that might be needed
• what services are available
• anything else you need to ask

Hospital staff can help you to make a plan after talking with you and the person you care for about what they want. This plan should cover the support and treatment the person will need outside hospital, who is responsible for their care, and when and how often care will be provided.

You can talk with Carer Gateway on 1800 422 737 Monday to Friday between 8am and 5pm about the services and support you can get to help you and the person you care for.