Research shows that being at home is much better for your physical health, mental wellbeing and overall recovery rate, while remaining in hospital for longer than necessary puts you at a higher risk of acquiring an infection and can lead to loss of muscle strength and independence.
Planning your discharge
From the moment you arrive at our hospital we begin planning your discharge so that as soon as your treatment is over you can recover in the best place for you, and we can look after those who need our care.
You should be told how long we expect you to be in hospital within a day of being admitted. If recovery is ideal and there is no unnecessary waiting, this is the date you should expect to go home. It is not possible to stay in our hospitals once you no longer need hospital care.
Discharging people at the right time frees up beds for other people who need to be admitted and prevents overcrowding in our emergency departments. Once you are medically fit to go home, we may move you from a bed on a ward or in a side room to a bed in a corridor or other temporary bed space so that we can care for the next patient in the right environment.
How you can help us get you home
Your clinical team will review your care daily and ensure your care plan is updated, involving you and your family, friends and carers in any decisions. It might be helpful to ask the following questions:
- What is my treatment or care plan?
- What is going to happen this morning, this afternoon and tomorrow morning?
- What needs to happen for me to go home?
- When can I go home?
- Will I need ongoing care when I leave hospital?
The team caring for you will talk to you about how you will get home, which is usually with the support of friends or family. Please start having conversations with them early, so that they can be ready to collect you.
If you need care when you leave
While most people can return home when they leave hospital, some people may need a care package or adaptations made to their home. Some people will need further care in a different and more appropriate place, such as another NHS community hospital or a residential care home or nursing home. If you are likely to need care when you leave hospital we will talk to you and your family, friends or carers and request assessment(s) to find out what needs you have and the services you might need to be safely discharged from hospital.
If you already had care in place before you came into hospital and your needs have not changed, then this is likely to restart as it was before.
If you need extra or new support at home this will be provided for a short period of time to help you to recover. If this support is likely to be needed on an ongoing basis, then unless you or your family, friends or carers want to arrange this, you will be offered further assessment of your needs once you are at home.
We will give you advice on accessing the information and support to help you choose the right care. This includes helping you to understand your care needs, the process of assessing your needs and the care options available.
If you want a different care provider
If you would prefer to explore other options, you will need to have arrangements in place soon after being told you no longer need to be in hospital – usually within three days if you need care at home, or within seven days if you need to choose a care home.
If your preferred choice of service is not available within these timescales, a temporary alternative can be arranged. You may not have a choice about who provides this as it will depend on what is available locally that meets your needs on discharge. It is not possible for you to stay in our hospitals once you no longer need hospital care.
If you would like to see a copy of the Sussex Choice Policy, please ask a member of your care team.
On the day of discharge
We will try to get you home as early as possible on your day of discharge.
Generally, people make their own arrangements to get home with support from families, friends and carers. We ask that you make these arrangements as early as possible and provide plenty of notice if this is proving difficult. If you are concerned about getting home, please talk to your care team.
While you wait to go home you are likely to be transferred to the discharge lounge where you will be cared for until you leave the hospital.
You will be given information and advice about how to manage any conditions or health care needs, and about any medication that you need to take.
Giving feedback about your stay
You will be given an opportunity to give feedback about the quality of the care you have received. If this does not happen, you can fill out a Friends and Family Test (FFT) survey online, to share your experience of being a patient at our hospital.