If you go into hospital, or are being discharged, you may want to consider the following.
A. What information do I need when I go into hospital
1 Details of your current conditions
2 A list of your current medications and when you take them
3 Whether you have any allergies
4 Any other information that might be relevant to your care
B. Things to consider before leaving hospital
When you leave hospital, your GP will be sent a letter explaining your care (this is called a discharge notice). You may also have been involved in creating a care plan, which will set out the health and social-care support that you may need.
Before you leave the hospital, you may want to ask some of the questions below.
You can ask a healthcare professional to write down important information. If you have any specific questions or doubts, you can also talk about these before you leave the hospital.
Medicine changes
1 You may want to ask the following.
2 Have my medications changed?
3 What has changed and why?
4 How often and when should I take the medications?
5 What side effects might I have and what should I do if I have them?
6 When should my medications be reviewed and who should review them?
7 How long do I need to keep taking these medications for and how does this affect any other medication?
8 If my medicine changes, how should I get rid of my old medicines?
Treatment and management
You may want to ask the following.
1 What should I do if my condition doesn’t improve or gets worse?
2 Is there a phone number if I’m struggling or concerned?
3 How likely am I to have symptoms again?
4 What should I watch out for?
5 When do I need a follow-up with you or my GP?
6 Will someone assess me before I go home or at home?
7 Will I need support (for example, to change dressings)?
8 When can I expect to return to my normal routine and activities?
9 What can I do myself to help manage my condition (for example, changes to my diet or lifestyle)?
C. Things you could tell your GP or pharmacist when you are discharged from hospital
1 Why you went into hospital
2 What your condition was
3 How long you were in hospital
4 Any changes to your medication
5 What follow-up has been advised (for example, tests) and when they will take place
Create a personalised record
