Research shows that a hospital stay can have a significant negative impact on someone’s health, especially if they are older, leaving them at an increased risk of infection and loss of strength as a result of spending a prolonged time in bed. For patients over the age of 80, a week in bed can lead to the equivalent of 10 years of muscle ageing. Prolonged bed rest is believed to reduce the ability to walk independently for between 16- 65% of older people.
To reduce these risks and help people start their recovery sooner, the public are being asked to lend their support and help their elderly friends and relations to get ‘Home for lunch’ following a hospital stay, making it easier for them to settle back in and reduce the likelihood of them being quickly readmitted.
Dr Fiona Head, Executive Clinical Director Utilisation Management for Hertfordshire and West Essex ICB, said: “Supporting the Home for Lunch campaign is an important part of a wider programme of work to ensure that none of our patients spends a minute longer in our hospitals than they need to. We know that staying in a hospital bed when you no longer require hospital care can have a profound negative impact on a person’s mental and physical wellbeing, putting them at greater risk of infections, falls and confusion.
“In familiar surroundings, it’s easier for us all to maintain our physical and mental health, spending more time with family members, friends and even our pets. We want to support patients to get home and start their recovery as soon as they are medically fit to be discharged – but we need your help.
“People don’t want to make a fuss, and we can all feel awkward asking for help. But everyone can start planning to come home to hospital as soon as they go in, and the more help you have the easier it will be.
“That’s why we’re urging family members, carers and close friends to start to plan to support someone to come home from hospital from the day they are admitted. That could mean making yourself available to collect them in a car or accompany them in a taxi or on the bus rather than relying on what can be a long wait for hospital transport, ensuring their home is safe, warm and welcoming, and calling in more regularly to check that they are settling in well and that any support from community based health and care staff is working smoothly.”
How family members and friends can help
- Bring in suitable clothes and footwear for the person to wear on their journey home
- Collect your loved one from hospital, or help to arrange a lift
- Make the home comfortable for their return – check it’s warm and safe, and that there are basic provisions, including food and any over-the-counter medicines they might need.
- Arrange extra help around the home or offer to help with preparing and cooking meals, taking medicines, daily living, and ensuring they are engaging in any community visits and physiotherapy
- Understand their hospital discharge plans – including understanding any equipment needed to aid recovery and how to use it
- Help them to attend their planned hospital appointments – check for messages about appointments and make plans to get them there on time
- Check with hospital staff about who to contact with any concerns, such as medication side effects or equipment failure, to support with their ongoing care.
- If plans change at the last minute and the patient has to stay in hospital, please cancel any services that are booked to help the person get home. This might include transport, a carer, meals, a cleaner or more. It just be friends and relatives who were planning to come over and help.
- Health & Independent Living Support (HILS) provides a range of services, including meals on wheels, in Hertfordshire. The service is available at a reduced price for people who have recently been discharged from hospital. It takes time to set up, so get in touch as soon as someone is admitted. This is also a service where it is important to let them know immediately if plans or dates change.
- Make sure the GP practice has received a copy of the discharge letter or other paperwork: they may want to arrange a check-up, or some additional support at home.
The Home for Lunch campaign is based on a successful project created by the NHS in Herefordshire and Worcestershire, and is also running in Cambridge and Peterborough.