Care homes near Caithness General Hospital, Wick

Leaving hospital: what happens next

1. Planning starts early. The ward usually starts planning a discharge soon after admission. Ask who is coordinating it and when the patient is expected to be ready to leave.
2. Ask for a needs assessment. If the patient may need care afterwards, the hospital discharge team works with the council’s social care team to assess what support is needed. The assessment is free.
3. Short-term support may come first. Many people go home or to a care home with short-term “intermediate care” or reablement while they recover. Scotland’s intermediate care framework says it should be free; what happens after that depends on the council, so ask the discharge team.
4. Free personal care. In Scotland, adults assessed as needing personal care don’t pay for it, at home or in a care home, though care home residents still pay for accommodation. Scotland doesn’t have NHS Continuing Healthcare; people with the most complex health needs may be cared for in hospital instead (“hospital based complex clinical care”).
5. Choosing a care home. A hospital bed usually can’t be kept while you wait for a particular home, so a short or interim stay is common. Use the list above to shortlist homes, and see our guides to hospital discharge, choosing a care home and respite and short stays.

Getting there and visiting

• ParkingParking is available for visitors, but spaces are limited, so cars should not be left there for the whole stay. Source

Questions about care homes near Caithness General Hospital