Assistance from a private carer or home care service can offer much-needed relief following a hospital discharge. A stay at hospital is already a worrying time for most people, so why add to this unsettling experience by moving your loved one to a care home facility to continue their recuperation?
Private care can help following a hospital discharge by allowing individuals to recover in the comfortable and familiar surroundings of home. Having a private carer residing in or visiting your loved one’s home ensures that they are carefully monitored during their recovery and that care is expertly aligned with instructions from their healthcare professionals.
What is hospital discharge care?
Following a discharge from hospital, individuals may need extra support as they continue to recover at home. They may feel less confident in their ability to care for themselves and carry out everyday tasks in their own homes. Mobility issues and concerns over self-administering treatment or medications can also make returning home alone a daunting prospect.
Hospital discharge care offers peace of mind to you and your loved one, ensuring that appropriate care and support are in place when they return home.
Hospital discharge carers can help with:
- Managing medications
- Wound aftercare
- Pain management
- Mobility
- Personal care, e.g. bathing, dressing, and toileting
- Transport to outpatient appointments
- Picking up prescriptions
- Meal preparation
- Light housekeeping
Types of private care after hospital discharge
Hospital discharge care encompasses several different types of care, depending on the individual’s needs and the reasons for their hospitalisation:
Live-in care
Live-in care involves a professional carer living with the individual in their home, providing continuous support and assistance. This type of care is ideal for those who require ongoing, around-the-clock care but wish to remain in the comfort of their own home.
Visiting care
Visiting care, also known as domiciliary care, involves a professional carer visiting the individual’s home at scheduled times throughout the day or week. The carer assists with specific tasks such as personal care, medication management, meal preparation, and other daily activities, offering flexibility and support while allowing the individual to maintain a level of independence.
Reablement care
Reablement care, also known as intermediate care, is a type of short-term, at home care administered after a hospital stay, illness or accident. The goal is to support an individual’s recovery care plan so that they can return to living life as they always have.
Convalescent care
Convalescent care is temporary, short-term care for people recovering from an injury, illness, or surgery. It provides help and support with everyday tasks and personal care during recovery.
Postoperative care
Postoperative care is best suited for those individuals who have undergone surgery and have been discharged from hospital to finish their recovery at home. An experienced carer can assist with the individual’s recovery process, ensuring they are monitored and do not encounter complications.
24-hour care
24-hour care can be short-term or long-term and ensures that an individual is cared for day and night. It may require one or two carers to work on a shift basis to cover all hours of the day.
Take a look at our private care guide for more information about private care and how it can help elderly individuals live independently in their own homes.
The benefits of hospital discharge care
There are many advantages to incorporating hospital discharge care into your care plan. Being prepared by having suitable hospital discharge care in place can offer much-needed support during this transitory period.
The benefits of hospital discharge care include:
- Peace of mind for family and friends
- Someone to monitor progress as they recover at home
- Coordinated care between the carer and healthcare professionals
- One-to-one personalised care
- Round-the-clock care
- Remain in the familiar surroundings of home
- Smooth transition from hospital to home
- Companionship during the recovery process
When to arrange hospital discharge care
When it is deemed that an individual is fit to leave hospital, more often than not, there is still a period of recovery at home required before they can continue with everyday life. What’s more, a discharge following a stay at hospital can be very last minute, leaving little time for arranging recovery care.
The key to effectively arranging hospital discharge care is to have it already included in your care plan and ready to be implemented should the need arise. Some care providers, such as Trinity Homecare, may arrange this for you, especially if you already have a regular carer in place.
Whichever provider you choose, planning ahead is the best way to avoid the stress of a last-minute hospital discharge and puts your loved one’s recovery needs first.
How Trinity Homecare Can Help
Hospital discharge care offers you and your loved one reassurance that they are in the best possible hands whilst recovering at home, following a hospital discharge. This form of care is designed to bridge the gap between in-hospital care and recovery at home. Trinity Homecare is able to match your loved one with the perfect home hospital discharge carer helping them to fully recover in the comfortable surroundings of home.
If you would like to learn more about arranging private hospital discharge care for your loved one, get in touch with our friendly and professional care team.
Arranging private hospital discharge care with Trinity is easy.
Just follow these five simple steps:
- Call our care team
- Undergo a free, no-obligation consultation to discuss your care needs and arrange a care assessment
- After the assessment, a plan of care is created
- A well-suited carer is found and placed
- Care can be adapted at any time
