Your Discharge from Hospital

There’s No Place Like Home – Safe discharge from hospital

Hospital is the best place for you when you are very unwell, but it isn’t the best place to recover.

Once you or your family member is well enough to leave hospital, being at home makes recovery safer and faster as it’s good for your mental wellbeing, there’s less chance of catching an infection and you can get good quality rest.

Research also shows that if elderly patients stay in a hospital bed for long periods of time, they can lose mobility and muscle strength, which makes it harder to regain independence once they do go home.

We will never discharge anyone unless they have a safe place to go. This means that sometimes a short-term social care placement (such as a care home) in the local area may be more appropriate for recovery and this will be discussed with you as a patient, or as a family member if it is thought to be needed.

King's Mill Hospital now has its own Discharge Lounge for patients waiting to be transported to wherever they call home. The facility provides a comfortable and purpose-designed space as they wait for medication, transport or for their relatives to collect them. Volunteers are based in the lounge to provide patients with food and drink.