We need your help to support patients to leave hospital
Our priority is to help our patients get better and support them to leave hospital when the time is right, but we need your help to do this.
No one wants to be in hospital for longer than they need to be. There is growing recognition that a lack of physical activity during hospital stays can have significant negative consequences for patients, especially in older people, which can lead to reduced functional ability and deconditioning, as well as the worsening of cognition.
We want to do everything we can to ensure that your loved one can leave hospital in a timely, comfortable and well-planned way, as we know that once people are well enough, the best place for them to recover is in the comfort of their own home. Your loved one will only be discharged when they no longer need hospital care and it is safe to do so.
Wherever possible, please help us to get your loved one home when they are ready to be discharged.
In most cases, they will return home, and if they need some additional care to help them in their recovery, our teams will work with you and your loved one to support you all as best we can.
Some patients may need to be discharged to a short-term care home bed and our teams will explain these to you and your loved one.
If your loved one is a care home resident, they will most likely return to their care home. On rare occasions, they may need to be discharged to a different care home for a short period, and we ask that you please support us with this wherever you can.
We know that supporting a family member at home can be challenging, but there really is no place like home for so many of our patients.
Please help your loved one if you can.
Thank you,
Prof Mark Hamilton
Medical Director
Help Us Help You:
- If you have an emergency, life-threatening situation we are here for you. If you need urgent care, please consider the other services available to you and Think 111 First
- Please consider whether you do need to attend emergency department. Patients with a potentially life-threatening emergency are actively encouraged to attend ED. If it’s not a life-threatening emergency there are other places to seek help.
- If you need advice or medical treatment quickly and can’t wait to see your GP call 111 or visit 111 online. If you need to be seen by a Minor Injuries or Emergency Department they can book you in.
- If you do attend ED and it isn’t a life-threatening emergency, you may be directed to another service. Please understand that this is because there are other people who are in much more urgent need of our care.
- Please pick up friends or relatives as soon as they are well enough to be discharged and help us get them home for lunch. This frees up a bed for other patients who need them.
- There are high numbers of children attending hospital. Use the HANDi paediatric app for advice on common childhood illnesses and when to seek help.
- Use your local pharmacist for minor conditions such as insect bites, ear ache, skin rashes.
- Head to the ‘stay well’ section of our website for more information https://www.plymouthhospitals.nhs.uk/stay-well
