Going Home

Discharge planning begins shortly after admission to the hospital.

The Healthcare team including your child and the parent/carer, will carefully consider the anticipated needs of your child, updating those plans during the course of their time in hospital.

On the day of discharge, the doctor will complete your child’s discharge paperwork which includes:

• Plan for follow up with your GP and/or specialty service
• Prescriptions for medications
• Any special care instructions for your child

Your nurse will review these instructions with you and your child and family and provide a written copy.

Before leaving the ward if you or your child have any questions about the medication or any of the instructions are unclear please don’t hesitate to ask a member of staff.

After a hospital stay, you may notice your child acting differently. This is normal. Some children take longer to adjust than others. There is no need to worry about these changes unless they are severe or last for an unusual period of time.

Our goal is for patients to be discharged in the morning, and we will do our best to make that possible for all. Unfortunately, sometimes there are unexpected delays, and for that we apologize. We want you to know that CUH is actively working on improving the coordination and communication between patients, families, and the healthcare team on the day of discharge.

If you have questions about the discharge instructions after you go home, please call the telephone number on the discharge instruction sheet.

Your Patient Experience - Your Feedback

We welcome and value your comments, compliments and complaints on the services and care provided to you and your child during your stay at Cork University Hospital. Please tell us about Your Patient Experience.