Help us free up hospital beds

By taking on a few small tasks to help your loved one leave hospital, you’ll also be helping us to free up a hospital bed for another patient.

There’s been plenty of news recently about the problems that hospitals are having with lack of beds – in part due to not being able to discharge patients home in a timely manner.

‘When can I go home?’ is the most common question patients ask, and evidence shows that once patients no longer need hospital care, they recover better at home.

However, despite patients being ready and willing to go home, very often we have not been able to discharge them, as they don’t have the right support at home.

This then effects on our ability to allocate hospital beds to other patients, and in turn, effects our Emergency Department waiting times and ambulance handover times.

Can you help us help other patients by supporting your loved one?

If you have a relative or loved one waiting to be discharged with home care or community health support, you may be able to help us get them home more quickly if you and your family can support them while these arrangements are being finalised.

Your loved one’s health care team will discuss arrangements with you beforehand, but here are some things that you can think about in advance:

• Allow therapists access to the patient’s home when needed.
• Make furniture changes as soon as possible to allow the patient home.
• You may not need to wait to take your loved one’s prescriptions home with you. We can arrange for any outstanding prescriptions to be delivered, allowing you to collect your relative earlier.
• Be flexible – your relative’s care may be delivered differently to how it has been in the past. Community hospitals and councils are adapting how they work to free up hospital beds in our hospital. If you’re offered a temporary place in a community hospital or care home – don’t refuse it.

If you have any queries or concerns, please discuss these with your loved one’s health care team.