Hundreds of patients unfortunately need to spend Christmas Day in hospital every year. While this is the right place for them to be because of their health, it is the last place that most of them want to be.
Doctors, nurses, pharmacists, social workers, and lots of others are working together as one team to ensure everyone who is well enough can leave hospital and be home for Christmas. Leaving hospital can also help people to recover more quickly in comfortable and familiar surroundings.
This year local clinicians are asking all those who share a household or are a carer, close friend or relative to someone in hospital, and are their key point of contact, to help health and care services this Christmas by:
- Staying in contact with the hospital ward they are on so everyone is clear about the expected date of discharge
- Supporting with any necessary arrangements to provide suitable clothing and shoes for the patient and understanding their ongoing medication needs
- Helping with their transport home. If you can help take a relative, friend or neighbour home when they are ready to leave hospital then it helps them to get home more quickly and it helps the NHS, too.
Little things like popping some milk and food in their fridge, turning on the heating in their home and checking for trip/fall hazards like trailing cables and rugs can make a big difference too.
We know people recover more quickly when they are back home rather than staying in hospital for too long. If you can, please help a friend, leaving hospital get back in their own homes more smoothly and in time to celebrate Christmas.
It will also help our frontline NHS staff if you can help by taking family members to hospital for outpatients appointments too that also really helps our transport services at this busy time.
There is a range of help and advice available to our communities over this Christmas and New Year on our website here.