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​​What to do Before and After​ Hospital Discharge

While your elderly loved one is recovering at the hospital, you can start to plan and prepare for his/her care needs back at home. This helps to ensure that the home is conducive for a smoother recovery.​​

How to Care for Your Loved One at Home

It is common for caregivers to feel overwhelmed by the many responsibilities. For day-to-day activities, creating a care routine can help to make daily tasks more manageable. In the midst of providing practical care, meaningful engagement with your loved one enhances the experience.

You can boost your skills and confidence with caregiver training courses. In cases where your loved one’s needs go beyond what you can do, there are care services in the community that can help to support your caregiving journey.

As your journey progresses, your loved one’s condition may change or an unexpected event could happen. Therefore, it is important to plan ahead for your own and your loved one’s future health and personal care.

Understanding your loved ones' preferences and arranging for future care arrangements will help to alleviate the stress of your family members. This also includes preparing ahead in the event of an emergency at home.


Preparing for Hospital Discharge

While your loved one is recovering at the hospital, you can start to plan and prepare for his/her care needs back at home. This helps to ensure that the home is conducive for a smoother recovery.


Before Hospital Discharge

Below is a simple checklist to guide your care planning.

  • Know your loved one’s ability to cope with activities of daily living based on his/her current condition.
  • Talk to your loved one’s therapist to explore home modification or assistive devices.
  • Consider post-hospitalisation care services.
  • Understand the symptoms and wounds that require management at home, such as blood pressure and blood sugar monitoring, pressure ulcers, and urinary catheters.

What are Activities of Daily Living?

Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) refer to a person’s basic skills to manage physical needs. The six common ADLs are:

...

Eating

...

Dressing

...

Bathing


...

Transferring

...

Toileting

...

Walking or moving around


If your loved one needs assistance in his/her ADLs, do discuss with his/her healthcare team on how to manage this, and ways to enable him/her to be as independent as possible at home. The healthcare team can also give advice if there is a need for home modifications and/or assistive devices.


New to preparing care for a loved one with disability upon hospital discharge? Find out more here.

Home Modifications

You can adapt or modify your home to make the home safer for your loved one and reduce the incidence of accidents. Find out more here.

When caring for a loved one with disability upon hospital discharge, equip yourself with tips on home modifications and home-based care services for Child and Adult Care.

Assistive Devices

There are tools or items that can assist your loved one to perform daily tasks. If your loved one is frail or has limited mobility, assistive devices such as walking aids and pressure relief mattress can help in his/her daily needs. Find out more here. In addition, you can click here to learn more about the assistive technology when caring for a loved one with disability.


Making decisions about caregiving needs can be overwhelming and the choices can affect your finances. By knowing your options and the Financial Assistance available, it can help to defray some expenses and make care more affordable. You can seek advice from a social worker at the hospital or visit AIC Links.

You could become stressed or feel unprepared in caring for your loved one. Learn care techniques and skills on creating a safe and supportive environment for your loved one through Caregiver Training.


Upon Hospital Discharge

Your loved one’s expected date of discharge is decided by your doctor. As part of the process, a nursing professional will work with you on the continuing care plan for your loved one. As caregivers, you and your family may be taught simple nursing procedures to carry out at home.

Before leaving the hospital, you will receive the following:

  • A Discharge Summary and Medical Certificate (if necessary).
  • Care information or instructions.
  • Referrals for care arrangements or follow-up treatment.
  • A follow-up appointment at the Specialist Outpatient Clinic (SOC), if necessary.
  • Medication prescribed by the pharmacist, who will advise you on use.

Learn More

Here are more tips to better care for your loved one.


Do these things to lower your loved one's risk of falling


How to manage an emergency situation involving a senior


Types of care services available for your loved ones​​

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