Going home

Discharge from hospital

• The standard discharge time is usually 11am

• If you are ready to go home or on the ward you may be moved to the patient discharge lounge while waiting for final paperwork, blood test results, dressings etc.
• The discharge lounge is an area with chairs and La-Z-Boys, with beverage and TV facilities available
• There are registered nurses present who will manage your final treatments
• Once your doctors have completed your paperwork and prescription the staff will assist you to contact your family/friends for transport home
• We aim to move as many patients as possible to the discharge lounge throughout the day as this creates beds for new patients awaiting admission

Information about your medication

• It is important you know what medicines you will be taking when you go home, why you need them, and what the side effects might be
• Please ask if you are unsure
• Staff should explain your medicines to you and check that you understand when you are given your discharge summary

Medicines brought in from home

• If you bring medicines into hospital, the following will be returned to you:
  • correctly labelled items that you will continue taking
  • non-prescription items that you have purchased

• The following items will not routinely be returned:
  • items which have been discontinued as a result of your admission
  • medicines with illegible or missing labels  
     

Outpatient appointments

• You may be required to attend a follow-up appointment in an outpatient clinic, at the Physiotherapy Department or other specialist clinics
• You will be sent an appointment card detailing the date and time to attend
• If you cannot attend please contact the department with the phone number on your appointment card

• Please do not hesitate to ask for more information or to question anything you do not understand when attending your clinic appointment
• You may also bring a support person with you
• Visit our outpatient appointments page for more information