Getting Discharged From Hospital

Write down any questions you have about what will happen when you get home, what your family can do to help or who is going to pay for your care.

Other questions you might have:

• When you need to see the doctor again and any follow-up tests
• How and when to change bandages and dressings
• What you can and can't eat
• How active you can be (may include fall precautions and physiotherapy)
• What to do if you have questions or if there is an emergency

Part of your discharge plan includes how you will travel from the hospital to your home or community. When you’re discharged, you may need to coordinate your trip home.

For more information about transportation options, visit our Transportation To & From Hospital page.

Services you may need at home can include home support, respite, nursing, physiotherapy, occupational therapy or speech therapy. For more information about services available, visit our Home and Community Care page.

Your team will assess the equipment you need and help coordinate to have it ready when you go home. Some examples of equipment include oxygen, or a mobility device like a walker.

Your doctor may write a prescription for medication and a nurse will give you a list of medications and instructions about any other medications you are to take at home.

• Ask which medications you should continue taking
• Update your medication list to include new medications, or changes to existing medications
• Have a health-care professional help you
• Inform your community pharmacist and family physician about any changes that occurred in the hospital

Whenever possible, the best place to make life-changing decisions about where you will live is at home during a period of wellness – not in hospital during a health crisis. These are important decisions that you need time to think about.

Family or friends may stay with you at your home, or you may stay with them. You may need to go to another health-care setting, such as a rehabilitation unit or convalescent bed, an assisted living facility, or a long-term care home.