Post-hospital care at home: What you need to know

Key takeaways

• Post-hospital care at home is support arranged after a hospital stay to help a person recover safely and comfortably in their own home. This type of support may suit someone recovering from surgery, managing an acute illness or stepping down from a higher level of care.
• Hospital at home services can include nursing, allied health, personal care, domestic assistance, transport and social support.
• Through Mable, you can arrange self-funded post-hospital care at home, with no referral, waitlist or eligibility requirements.
• You can connect with verified independent support workers and nurses through Mable, review their profiles, agree on rates and manage bookings through one platform.
• Payment can be made by credit card, direct debit or NDIS or Support at Home government funding, if you are eligible and these types of support services are included in your plan.

The period immediately after hospital can be one of the most vulnerable parts of recovery. If you’re leaving hospital after an illness or surgery, you may feel unsure about how you'll manage at home. Will you still need clinical care to support your recovery? How will you manage everyday tasks, like cleaning and cooking?

These concerns can also feel very real if you’re caring for a parent, partner or family member who’s returning home after a hospital stay. 

Post-hospital care at home may help ease these worries and make recovery feel more supported and easier to manage. This can be especially important if hospital discharge happens sooner than expected. 

In this article, we explain what post-hospital care at home means, what kinds of support are available, and how you can arrange self-funded support through Mable. It’s important to remember that self-funded support is different from State arranged hospital at home services, such as the NSW Hospital in the Home (HITH) program or the Out of Hospital Care Program. These programs are usually short-term, have eligibility requirements and are generally arranged through a hospital or health service. 

What is post hospital care at home?

Post-hospital care at home, sometimes called out-of-hospital care, refers to the support and services a person receives in their home while recovering from a hospital stay. It covers the period between hospital discharge and returning to their usual level of independence. 

For some people, this period may last a few days. For others, it may continue for several weeks or longer, depending on their recovery needs, health condition and their level of independence. 

By self-funding post-hospital care at home through a platform like Mable, you have more control over who provides the support, what it covers and when it happens. There are no waitlists or eligibility requirements, so you have quick and easy access to independent support workers, registered nurses and allied health professionals. 

What types of support are available at home after hospital?

Through Mable, post-hospital care at home can include several different types of support. These can be arranged as one-off or ongoing sessions, depending on what you or the person you care for needs during recovery.

The right mix of support will depend on recovery needs, discharge instructions and personal preferences. Through Mable, it’s straightforward to arrange multiple service types through a single platform. You can book registered nurses, allied health professionals or independent support workers  who offer these services: 

Nursing care

Some people leave hospital with clinical needs that continue at home. This may include:

• Wound care

• Medication management

• Catheter care

• Vital signs monitoring

• Respiratory care

• Continence assessment and management 

• Pre- and post-acute hospital care.

All private nurses booked through Mable are AHPRA-registered nurses. This means they have specialised clinical care training to assess a person’s needs and complete more complex healthcare tasks. This type of support may be especially helpful for someone stepping down from hospital-level clinical care.

Allied health

Allied health support can help someone with their rehabilitation, confidence and independence after a hospital stay. It may be especially useful when a person needs help rebuilding routines, moving safely at home or adapting to changes after illness, surgery or injury.

Depending on the person’s needs, allied health support can include:

• Physiotherapy to rebuild strength and mobility

• Occupational therapy to support daily activities and home safety

• Speech pathology for communication and swallowing

• Psychology for emotional wellbeing.

All allied health professionals booked through Mable are registered with the appropriate professional bodies.

Personal care

A hospital stay can affect a person’s strength, balance, energy and confidence. Personal care support can help with day-to-day physical assistance while they recover, helping them manage daily routines safely and comfortably.

Personal care can include support with:

• Showering

• Dressing and grooming

• Toileting

• Mobility

• Safely moving positions or locations 

• Exercise assistance

• Medication assistance.

Personal care support workers booked through Mable must have relevant qualifications or experience. 

Domestic and everyday support

While recovery is often centred on clinical care, everyday tasks matter too. They can quickly become difficult when someone is tired, sore, unwell or adjusting to new routines. This type of support may play an important role in helping a person rest and focus on recovery, rather than managing the household.

Domestic and everyday support can include:

• House cleaning

• Meal preparation

• Gardening

• Shopping

• Transport

• Personal admin

• Social support 

Domestic and everyday support workers don’t require clinical qualifications when booked through Mable, but all support workers still go through a thorough verification process. This includes reference check, and the NDIS Worker Screening Check, which includes an identity check. 

Why should you arrange post-hospital care through Mable?

There are many benefits of arranging support after a hospital stay through Mable: 

Choice

You can connect with a large and diverse network of verified independent support workers who offer nursing, allied health, personal care and domestic support. This can help you build a support team that suits your recovery needs, preferences and schedule, or those of your loved one.

For families comparing out of hospital care providers and self-funded support options, this choice can be reassuring. Instead of accepting whichever service is available with a provider or program, you can connect directly with independent support workers who offer post-hospital support through Mable. You can explore support worker profiles, compare experience and choose the right worker for you through one platform.

Confidence

Every support worker booked through Mable completes a verification process before they can offer services through the platform. Workers are background-checked and also covered by support worker insurance for approved sessions when booked and invoiced through Mable.

Clinical workers, such as nurses, must also hold relevant AHPRA or professional body registrations. This is especially important when arranging support for wound care, medication assistance, rehabilitation or other post-hospital needs.

Ease

Post-hospital recovery often comes with new care needs and routines. Mable can help make the process of arranging and tracking support easier by having worker profiles, bookings, scheduling and payments in one platform. There’s also no referral or no waitlist when you self-fund, and Mable’s team is available if help is needed. 

How do you arrange post-hospital care at home through Mable?

Mable is designed to make it easier to connect with independent support workers, nurses and allied health professionals in your local area. With no referral needed or waitlist to join, the right support can quickly be arranged when hospital discharge has already happened or is coming up soon.

Here’s how to arrange hospital at home services through Mable:

Step 1: Connect with an independent support worker, nurse or allied health professional

You can either post a job ad with details of the support needed and wait for responses, or browse local support worker profiles using Mable’s search function. There are over 70 search filters that allow you to search by service type, qualifications, location and more. Each worker profile includes details such as qualifications, reviews, interests and indicative rates. This can help you compare workers before making contact.

Step 2: Book a session

Once you’ve found a support worker, nurse or allied health professional who may be a good fit, you can agree on the job details directly with them. This includes rates, session timing and the type of support required. You may also like to arrange a meet and greet session to ask questions and get a sense of their support style before booking.

Every session booked through Mable also includes support worker insurance covering the support worker’s actions while providing care.

Step 3: Manage ongoing support

Once support begins, you can schedule sessions, manage bookings and make payments in one place.

Payment can be made by credit card, direct debit, or NDIS or Support at Home government funding, if you are eligible and these types of support services are included in your plan. Invoices are always available in your Mable account, which can make it easier to keep track of support for you or the person you care for.

Find the right post-hospital care at home 

Coming home from hospital can feel like a big moment. You might feel relief in being in familiar surroundings again, but you may also have concerns about your recovery and how you'll manage. Having the right support in place at home may help recovery feel safer, more comfortable and manageable.

Through Mable, support can be arranged quickly and without a referral when you pay privately. You can book a support worker now, or contact the Mable team for extra help arranging post-hospital care at home.