Adult social care and support

Hospital stays and discharge

This page helps you plan for your hospital visit, what to expect when you are discharged and how to complain if something goes wrong.

If you know you're going into hospital, the NHS has some useful advice:

You can also look at your stay in hospital from Age UK.

If you need help getting to your appointment, find out about:

You could prepare for an emergency with the Message in a bottle scheme. This gives you stickers that will let people know if you have allergies or take medicine.

In an emergency we must consider if we need to make arrangements for you to:

  • make sure your property is secure
  • check if someone can take care of your pets. If you don't have family or friends that can help we will arrange a cattery, kennel or similar

You may have to pay for us to make these arrangements.

If you look after someone else, do you have plans for them if you need to go into hospital? The carer's emergency plan can help you prepare.

Action for Carers has Hospital Carer Support Advisors at:

  • East Surrey
  • Epsom and St. Heliers
  • The Royal Surrey
  • Ashford and St. Peter's

They offer advice and support and make sure that you're involved in all conversations.

Ask hospital staff about extra help to carers through a Carers Passport. This may help you:

  • get cheaper parking
  • have longer visiting hours
  • continue to care for your loved one

If the person you care for has dementia, ask your hospital team about the Butterfly Scheme.

For more information see Carer's hospital discharge guide leaflet.

Our social care staff work together with hospital staff and community health providers. They will give you advice about getting ready to leave hospital when you are medically fit. The hospital staff will arrange any care and support needs before discharge.

You can find advice about being discharged from hospital (NHS) or on leaving the hospital from AgeUK Surrey. You can also find out more advice about your discharge on the individual hospital websites:

The Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) at the hospital you are in will be able to give you a copy of their discharge policy.

When you're ready to leave, hospital teams will work with you to make sure you can do this safely. They will look to see if:

  • you can go straight home
  • you can go home with some support
  • you need to go into community-based care or temporary residential or nursing care
  • you need to go into long-term residential or nursing care

You can find out more about what will happen at being discharged from hospital (NHS).

Once you no longer need acute hospital care, you may be discharged through the Discharge to Assess (D2A). You may still need some support to return to independent living. Depending on your needs, this support may be delivered at home or in a short-term residential setting.

Go home with social care support

If you need care and support when you go home, we may be able to help you with short-term care. This care could be for a couple of days or up to 6 weeks. During this time, we'll help your relearn skills and regain confidence. If the hospital team think you would benefit from this, they will make a referral for you. This short-term care is free.

If you need support after the 6 week period is over, charges will apply.

Going into residential or nursing care

If you have ongoing and more complex needs that cannot be managed at home you may need support in a residential or nursing care home. You may need to pay towards longer term care.

See:

If you can't get support from us, there's lots of support in local areas provided by a range of different organisations.

Homesafe Plus is for people in Elmbridge, Runnymede, Spelthorne, Woking or Surrey Heath areas.

It offers immediate support for 6 weeks. You may have to pay for this. Examples include:

  • fitting key safes
  • meals at home
  • community alarms
  • social prescribing service

The Hospital to Home Support Service is for people in the Surrey Downs area.

It offers support for 6 weeks. You may have to pay for this.

Examples include:

  • Lifeline alarm
  • telephone welfare calls
  • referrals to different services and social activities

For help with everyday tasks find out about:

Making changes to your home could help keep you safe, well and independent. Find out about:

If you get benefits, you must tell:

  • Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)
  • the council office that deals with your Housing and Council Tax Benefit claims

about your hospital stay. They will check to see if you they need to make any changes to your benefits.

If you didn't have any benefits before you went into hospital, you may be able to claim now. Get advice on benefits and money from Citizens Advice.

For help with travel costs see:

If you're not happy with:

  • your stay
  • how you left hospital

speak with your hospital team. You can get help to do this from The Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS).

You can give feedback about us or provide independent feedback via Healthwatch Surrey.

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