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Home & Follow Up

Going Home
 
Most of our patients go home between day one and day three after their surgery. In order to be discharged home, you must:  
  • Be medically fit  
  • Be independently mobile with an appropriate walking aid  
  • Be independently transferring in and out of bed and on and off the toilet  
  • Have completed a short flight of stairs if you have stairs at home  
  • Ensure all equipment that you require to be safe at home, is installed. 

Very few of our patients require any equipment when they go home – if you do, the inpatient team will discuss this with you and arrangements will be made.  

We appreciate that being in and going home from hospital can be worrying and we are keen to provide support. The team will work with you and your family to assess your needs in preparation for going home. When you leave SWLEOC, you will be given a limited supply of any new medication which has been started while in hospital, a written discharge summary that will tell you about wound care, any necessary future blood tests or actions that should be taken. A copy of this discharge summary will also be sent to your GP.  

The Day of Discharge
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  • We aim to discharge you by 11am so that you can settle in to your home early  
  • You will need to arrange a friend and family member to collect you – you will be quite fine to travel as a passenger in a normal car. In the event that you do not have anyone that can collect you, please alert a member of the hospital team
  • Make sure that you have outdoor clothes and your house keys with you 

If you have any concerns about your discharge home or about your ability to cope at home, please flag these up as early as possible to staff and we can help you.  

After Discharge 

If you have any queries after you are discharged home from hospital, you can refer to your patient information booklet which is sent to you before surgery. If you have any further unanswered questions or queries, please contact the ward that you were discharged from.  

If you have any queries regarding your recent operation please refer to your patient information booklets first. If you have any further unanswered questions or queries please contact the ward that you were discharged from.  

To contact the wards only between 9 – 4 pm Monday to Friday. 

Derby Ward: 01372 735 842 
Oaks Ward: 01372 735 852 

For physiotherapy questions please contact the ward you were discharged from 

Derby Ward: 01372 735 842 
Oaks Ward: 01372 735 852 

If you have a life-threatening problem dial 999. For nonlife-threatening problems dial 111 (NHS helpline). For general medical advice see your GP. 

Follow up appointments after surgery 

You will be invited by letter to attend an out-patient clinic appointment 6 weeks after surgery where you will be reviewed by a member of your Consultant’s Team. During the appointment, the check x-ray will be assessed. The x-ray will have been performed when you are fit enough to attend the x-ray department while you were in hospital. Your wound will also be checked. The clinician will enquire how you are getting on and give advice if needed. At this point, if you are recovering well, you will be discharged back to the care of your GP. Some people may be requested to return to clinic for future appointments if further support or monitoring is required.  
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