Discharge conversations happen fast, usually beside a bed, usually while someone is trying to get dressed. The questions below are the ones families most often wish they had asked, gathered from years of picking up the pieces afterwards.
Ask on the ward
- Which of these medications are new, and which have been stopped?
- Who is dressing this wound, how often, and starting when?
- What specifically would mean we should ring someone rather than wait?
- Has a district nurse referral actually been made, or only mentioned?
- Is there any weight-bearing or lifting restriction, and for how long?
- What does the follow-up appointment look like, and who books it?
- Are any of these tablets to be crushed, or must they be swallowed whole?
- What equipment is being delivered, and on what day?
- Who is the named contact if none of the above happens?
Write the answers down on the ward. Nobody remembers them in the car park.
