Preparing for Hospital Discharge

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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.

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.

Home Modifications

Adapting or modifying your home to make the home safer for your loved one and reduce the incidence of accidents.

Assistive Devices

Tools or items that can assist your loved one with performing certain 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.

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: