Hospital

Hospital Stays & Discharge

The folder you grab on the way out of the door.

24 pages

Hospital Stay Go-Kit

The folder you grab on the way out of the door, and the checklist that stops discharge day going wrong.

$17

Free guides in this section

12 guides and checklists

COPD at home: the equipment records and the contacts page

This is a records page, not a medical page — ask your parent's doctor, the respiratory team and the pharmacist about the condition and the treatment.

After an operation: the paperwork, the dates and the first week home

This is a records page, not a medical page — ask the surgical team, the discharge nurse and your parent's doctor about the recovery itself and about any instruction sheet you are given.

Fall detection, explained without the sales page

Fall detection is the most heavily marketed add-on in the medical alert category and the least clearly explained.

The first 48 hours after your parent is admitted: an admin checklist

A hospital admission happens in a corridor, at speed, usually with someone talking to you while you are still holding your car keys.

What to pack in a hospital bag for your parent

Most hospital bags get packed badly because they get packed fast.

Discharge day: the checklist to run before you leave the ward

Discharge day moves faster than anyone expects.

Hospital Discharge: The Week Before and the Day Itself

Discharge feels like it happens suddenly.

How to Build a One-Page Emergency Sheet for Your Parent

If your parent is taken to hospital while you are two hours away, someone will be asking a stranger for information nobody in the room has.

How to Prepare a House for a Returning Parent

You have been told they can come home, possibly tomorrow, possibly today.

What to ask before equipment and supplies arrive at the house

Equipment usually turns up on the worst possible day — the discharge day, when three other things are happening and nobody writes anything down.

What to Ask Before Your Parent Leaves the Hospital

Discharge is usually announced with a few hours' notice, on a busy ward, by someone you have not met.

What to Pack When a Parent Goes Into Hospital

You are packing at an hour you did not choose, for a stay of a length nobody has told you yet.