Planning for home
If upon attending our hospitals you require an overnight stay, you will be given an expected date of discharge by the clinical team looking after you.
If you're expecting a baby the arrival date may be uncertain, but it is important to plan your journey home in advance. A straightforward birth would normally mean you return home within four to six hours. An instrumental or caesarean (c-section) birth typically leads to a one to two day stay, dependant on yours and your baby's wellbeing. An extended stay may be required based on an individuals medical needs.
This leaflets detail what needs to be considered to organise your discharge, and questions that you may want to ask your clinical team. These include:
- What is the main reason I am in hospital?
- What is going to happen to me today and tomorrow?
- What extra help might I need when I leave hospital?
- When will I be able to leave hospital?
Some of our patients may require practical task support when returning home to help them carry out tasks such as shopping. Often, family or friends can support with this, but occasionally more formal support is needed.
An assessment of these needs will be carried out and will be detailed on a Transfer of Care Document. This will include:
- Your personal care needs
- Your health (including psychological and emotional) needs
- Your needs for support from either nursing (e.g. district nursing) or other healthcare workers
- Your needs for aids or adaptions to your home (e.g. handrail).
Our teams will then work with our NHS colleagues and local authority to ensure you get the care you need to safely leave our hospitals. This may require you to transfer to another care setting to ensure the best recovery and recuperation outside of our acute hospital setting.
For those receiving care from Liverpool Women's University Hospital, you will continue to receive support following discharge from the Community Midwives and Maternity Support Workers.
On the day of your discharge
To help us prepare for other patients being admitted to our hospitals, we will aim to have you or your loved one ready to leave the ward from 8am onwards, depending on your needs and circumstances.
The below information will help you and/or your friends and family prepare:
Please be aware, patients at Aintree University Hospital or The Royal Liverpool University Hospital, may be required to wait in a discharge lounge. These open from 7.30am-7.30pm, Monday to Friday. Here you can wait in comfort for discharge medication and your transport to arrive.
Postnatal visits post discharge
You will be expected to make three separate visits back to Liverpool Women's University Hospitals to see our Postnatal team following your discharge.
Visit one (day after discharge)
- Health check for you and your baby
- Discussion of emotional wellbeing and feeding
- Opportunity to ask questions or share concerns.
Visit two (day five)
- Baby weighed
- Newborn blood spot screening test performed.
Visit three (day nine or ten)
- Final midwife check. Topics include:
- Postnatal exercises
- Registering your baby’s birth
- Contraception
- Your six to eight week GP check-up.
