When am I going home? It’s ok to ask.

We know that it’s much better for a patient’s physical and mental wellbeing to leave hospital as soon as they are medically ready to do so.

That’s why we’re doing everything we can to reduce prolonged hospital stays and help our patients continue their recovery at home or, for those that can’t go straight home, within a care location most suited to their needs.

Launched in February 2022 the ‘When am I going home?’ campaign is designed to empower and encourage patients and their families to feel confident in asking questions about their care and recovery beyond the hospital setting.

We recognise it can sometimes be hard for patients to ask questions about where their care is up to, especially if they’re unsure about their illness or they can see staff are busy; but encouraging them to ask key questions can help them feel more in control of their recovery.

The campaign is centred around these four questions that patients can ask so they understand everything they need to know about their care and recovery plan:

1. What is wrong with me?
2. What is going to happen next?
3. What can I do to help myself get better?
4. When am I likely to go home?

It focuses on two key audiences; older patients who are admitted to hospital, and their families/carers.

How you can support

A range of resources have been created to make it as easy as possible for hospital staff, communications teams and volunteers to help spread the word to patients, as well as their families and carers.

Resources include:

• posters
• trayliners
• leaflets (for patients and carers) depicting images of home comforts which hospital staff can display around hospitals
• a digital toolkit, which contains links to download digital assets, including a screen saver and social media posts.

Find these, and more, at the campaign resource centre.

There are also a range of resources to support our staff campaign, ‘Where Best Next?’, which focusses on practical actions healthcare professionals can take to help get patients to the best place for them.

For more information on either campaign please email e.staton@nhs.net.