Our top priority is to help you get better and support you to leave hospital when the time is right. You'll only leave hospital when you no longer need hospital care and it is safe to do so.

Once you're well enough, the best place for you to recover is in the comfort of your own home.

It’s much better for a patient’s physical and mental wellbeing to leave hospital as soon as they are medically fit for discharge. Long stays in hospital can result in:

• physical deconditioning
• greater risk of falls and exposure to infection
• an increase in long term care needs
• a reduction in mental wellbeing.

Our staff will work with you to start planning right away to ensure you leave the hospital in a safe and timely manner.

Getting you home for lunch

A key part of our discharge planning when you have a hospital stay with us is to ensure we try to get you home or transferred to our discharge lounge before lunchtime.

Getting you home for lunch:

• improves your experience and means you feel more awake at the time of discharge
• reduces unnecessary delays
• is safer and more convenient for patients/families/carers
• improves your access other services if required (e.g. pharmacies / shops)
• helps us accommodate new patients who need to be admitted

To help our patients, their families, carers and/or friends understand what they should expect from us regarding discharge and questions to ask during a hospital stay we have produced a new patient guide to discharge information leaflet. This includes a helpful discharge checklist (see below) to help you get home smoothly.

Checklist for discharge

• Will someone pick you up or meet you at home?
• Are your ongoing care arrangements in place?
• Do you have suitable outdoor clothing and shoes to wear?
• Do you have any medical certificates you may need?
• Do you have your hospital discharge letter for your GP?
• Do you have your medication ready to take home?
• Do you understand how and when to take your medication?
• Do you have your house keys and personal belongings?