Returning home after hospital

Staying in a hospital may be difficult, and most people want to get home as soon as possible. But your health and recovery are a priority, so you shouldn’t be discharged until the doctor and team caring for you decide you no longer need care in hospital.

When you’re admitted to the hospital (as opposed to just visiting A&E), the hospital team will start planning arrangements for when you go home and the sort of help you might need to do so. Most patients don’t need ongoing nursing or social care help to get home and recover, but help is available for those who need it.

When the hospital team looking after you thinks you are likely to go home soon, you will be given a date and a time you are likely to leave.