After You've Been Discharged 

Tauranga and Whakatāne Hospitals work closely with your GP and community-based services to ensure your discharge from hospital and transfer of care on returning home, is appropriate.

Discussion around your likely day of discharge should begin soon after you enter hospital.

Please feel free to ask questions about any issues of concern to you about your discharge, so that arrangements can be made.

It may take some time before a doctor is able to formalise your transfer of care from hospital staff to other health professionals working in the community, but we will endeavour to meet all your needs quickly.

If you have questions about your discharge, please speak to your nurse in the first instance.

You should be given a discharge summary and a prescription for ongoing medication (if required) before you are discharged. 

Discharge Planning

Our discharge planning will include:

• How you will travel home.
• The need for ongoing medication, instructions for pain relief, rest, exercise and diet.
• Providing community services such as district nursing, social workers, home help, meals on wheels or referrals to other agencies.
• The need for continuing therapy from your occupational therapist or physiotherapist or specialist nurse, or equipment to assist at home.
• Who you or your family can talk to if concerns arise.
• Whether you will have follow-up treatment at an outpatient's clinic and what this involves.

 

Returning Hospital Equipment

If you are not able to return borrowed hospital equipment back to the department it came from, please leave the items with the Hospital Main Reception.