What to expect when you leave
Discharge planning begins early in your hospital stay. Good planning helps you feel prepared for discharge, and helps you to continue your recovery once you leave the hospital. During the discharge planning process, your care team will work with you, your family and LHIN Community Case Manager to understand your care needs, what’s most important to you and what resources you may need.
Things to know:
Your discharge date
Your whole health care team has a role in ensuring the plan for you leaving the hospital is clinically appropriate as possible and meets your needs to help you heal and recover.
Once your care team has determined your expected discharge date, they will share this information with you. You will want to tell your family or caregiver this date, and ask if, on this date, he or she can pick you up as early as 10:00 am.
Who will pick you up from the hospital?
If you do not have somebody to pick you up from the hospital on the day of your discharge, talk to somebody on your care team. He or she will help you arrange transportation for the day you will be leaving the hospital.
Pay-for-transport
If you need help to get home beyond family, friends, or taxi, your care team can help set up your ride home through a non-emergent transport service. You, your family or caregiver can also make these arrangements. West Haldimand General Hospital does not pay for patient transportation costs from the hospital to home, including Long Term Care. You or your family are responsible for these costs and will need to give a credit card number to the transportation service before leaving the hospital. If you have any questions, please ask a health care team member.
Questions to ask
Following an illness or injury, you may need to make changes to your day-to-day routine. Some questions you may want to ask your health care team include:
- Do I need to make any lifestyle or self-care changes once I’ve left the hospital?
- Are there foods I should avoid?
- Is there medical equipment I will need to arrange to get or purchase?
- Are there skills I’ll need to learn to take care of myself?
- Does my family know how to take care of me at home, if I cannot care for myself?
- Do I have any follow-up appointments?
- Who do I call if I have any questions once I’ve left West Haldimand General Hospital?
Your care team will provide you with any contact information you may need.
Before you leave the hospital, make sure you have all of your prescriptions, and that you know how to take all of your medications. Ask your health care team about any side effects you should know about. And make sure you have all of your belongings! Check with your nurse to make sure you aren’t leaving anything behind.
