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Why discharging your patient with home care is crucial

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Newsroom

Why discharging your patient with home care is crucial

If you are a nurse, social worker, case manager or discharge planner for a hospital or facility the goal is to prepare the patient and their family members for a safe and successful transition back home. Some discharges prove more challenging than others. However, all of them have one thing in common, the need for a great discharge plan. A great discharge plan plays a crucial role in patient long-term health and success in their goal to live independently at home.

The transition from a hospital or facility to the home can be an intimidating event for patients and their families. Many families express their intention and desire to care for the patient using family carers.

There are three reasons why families believe they will not need to hire home care and why you should include it in the discharge plan anyway:

  1. Lack of understanding
    When an elderly person has a major health event, their health can decline quickly from that point. It often takes the family some time to catch up. Families want to believe that once their loved one is discharged from the hospital or facility, they are eventually going to get back to their old self. When this does not end up happening they are left unprepared and unable to carry the load of caring for the person on their own. Include home care in the discharge plan.
  2. Too expensive
    Many families believe hiring a private support worker is not within their financial abilities. This is where Mable’s community of independent support workers can help. Mable is a unique platform where families can find affordable, local support workers. Mable’s community of support workers are available to support the family in their time of need and maximise the hours of care they can afford. Include home care in the discharge plan.
  3. Family carer burnout
    They call it the sandwich generation, those in their 40’s, and 50’s not only caring for their children, but also caring for their parents. Juggling both of these roles can often affect the health of the family carer. When the responsibilities of care giving become too emotionally and physically exhausting, a family carer will experience burnout. When this happens they will need to hire home care for support. Don’t wait for carer burnout to happen, include home care in the discharge plan.

Whether the family knows it or not, odds are they are going to need support at some point down the road. This is why providing families with home care information and educating them about their options is crucial to creating a great discharge plan. If families are prepared with home care information they will be much better equipped for long-term health and success at home.

“I was having difficulty sourcing a support worker with the necessary experience and availability for a client with complex needs. It was very fortuitous I came across the Mable website which allowed me to search and engage support workers directly. I was also impressed with the detailed reporting, shift notes and messaging capabilities of the Mable platform, allowing me and other staff to be up to date with the services being provided to the client.”

Patrick, Social worker