Coming Home From Hospital: How to Get the House Ready for a Parent

Preparing a home for hospital discharge comes down to three jobs: talk to the hospital team early, make one safe route from the bed to the toilet to a chair, and sort the quick fixes before the slow ones. Most families get days of notice, not weeks. So start with what can be done this week, such as clearing trip hazards, fitting a few grab rails and deciding where your parent will sleep, and set the longer jobs like grants and building work going in parallel.

This guide is written for sons and daughters in Ireland whose mother or father is about to come home. It is the checklist we would give our own families.

Key takeaways

• Ask the hospital who is handling the discharge plan, and ask for an occupational therapist (OT) home visit or assessment if one has not been offered.
• The HSE Home Support Service is free and not means-tested. You can ask for the application form while your parent is still in hospital.
• Decide early: bed downstairs for a while, or a stairlift. A straight stairlift from stock can usually go in the same day or the next day.
• Bathroom basics (grab rails, a raised toilet seat or frame, a shower seat) make the biggest difference in the first week.
• Grants take months. Apply now, but do not plan the homecoming around grant money arriving.

Start with the hospital team

Before you buy anything, find out what the hospital already plans to put in place. The discharge plan is usually managed by a nurse, a discharge coordinator or a medical social worker. The OT and physiotherapist on the ward will have watched your parent walk, stand up from a chair and manage steps, so their view is worth more than any catalogue.

Questions worth asking before the discharge date:

• Can your parent manage stairs safely, and how many steps?
• Do they need to sleep downstairs for now?
• Will an OT visit the house, or can they give advice from photos and measurements?
• What equipment will the hospital or community services provide, and when will it arrive?
• Will a public health nurse call after discharge?
• Are there limits on bending, lifting or bathing from the surgeon or physio?

Ask about home help at the same time. According to Citizens Information, the HSE Home Support Service is free, is not means-tested, and can help with everyday tasks like getting in and out of bed, showering and dressing. If your parent is in hospital, you can ask the person dealing with the discharge plan to help with the application. A public health nurse or another health professional then carries out a care needs assessment. Demand for the service is high, which we cover in our look at HSE home support figures, so get the form in early.

Coming home from hospital checklist: the first 48 hours

Walk through the house as if you were your parent, slowly, maybe with a frame or a stick. Then work through this list.

1. Clear the floor. Lift loose rugs and mats, tape down or reroute trailing flexes, and move low furniture out of the walking route.
2. Light the way. Plug-in night lights between the bedroom and the toilet. Make sure there is a lamp or switch they can reach from the bed.
3. Set up one good chair. A firm chair with arms, at a height they can stand up from without rocking forward three times.
4. Sort the bed. The right height to sit on the edge with feet flat on the floor, with space beside it for a frame.
5. Make the toilet manageable. A raised seat or a toilet frame, and a grab rail if the wall allows.
6. Plan washing. For the first days a strip wash at the sink, sitting down, may be safer than a shower. A shower seat helps once they are ready.
7. Fit a key safe. Carers, the public health nurse and family can let themselves in without your parent rushing to the door.
8. Keep essentials close. Phone, glasses, medication, water and the TV remote within reach of the chair and the bed.
9. Heat and food. Check the heating timer, stock the freezer with easy meals and move everyday items to waist height in the kitchen.

Stairs: sleep downstairs or fit a stairlift?

This is usually the biggest decision. Both are reasonable, and many families do one and then the other.

A bed downstairs for now

If there is a front room that can become a bedroom, and a toilet on the ground floor, this is the quickest option. It buys time while you see how recovery goes. The downside is privacy and space, and it gets old quickly if the only shower is upstairs.

A stairlift

If the bathroom is upstairs, or your parent simply wants their own bed back, a stairlift is often the answer. Timing depends on the staircase:

Staircase	Typical timing	Bridging option
Straight (one run, no bends)	Usually installed the same day or next day from stock; fitting takes a few hours	Buy new or reconditioned, or rent on a monthly plan
Curved, with turns or landings	Made to measure: 2 to 5 weeks from the deposit	A bed downstairs while the lift is being made
Not sure which you have	Free survey first	We tell you at the survey

If the discharge date is close, we offer fast stairlift installation for straight stairs. Where nobody knows yet how long the need will last, a monthly rental plan avoids a big outlay. The rail fixes to the stair treads, not the wall, and the seat folds away so the stairs stay usable for everyone else.

The bathroom and toilet

The bathroom is where most families worry, and with good reason: wet floors, low seats and getting in and out of the bath. A few small items go a long way:

• Grab rails beside the toilet and at the shower or bath. They must be fixed into something solid, not just plasterboard.
• A toilet frame or raised seat, such as our height-adjustable toilet frame, so standing up takes less effort.
• A shower seat or stool so they can wash sitting down.
• Non-slip mats inside the bath or shower tray, not loose mats on the floor outside.

If getting over the side of the bath is now out of the question, a level-access shower is the longer-term fix. Our guide to making a bathroom easier to use goes through the options.

Grants: apply now, but do not wait for them

The Mobility Aids Grant (up to €8,000) and the Housing Adaptation Grant for People with a Disability (up to €40,000) can cover stairlifts, grab rails, ramps and accessible showers. They are run by your local county council and usually need an OT assessment. Citizens Information notes that councils prioritise people who would be able to return home from hospital if their home were adapted, so say so clearly on the form.

Even so, our customers tell us the process often takes 6 to 12 months, and no work can start before you have written approval. That is why many families use a rental or a private purchase to get through the first months. Our grant calculator gives a quick idea of what your parent might qualify for.

What to sort, and how long each takes

Job	Who to ask	Rough timing
Discharge plan and OT advice	Ward nurse, discharge coordinator, OT	Before discharge
Home Support application	Person handling the discharge plan	Apply during the hospital stay
Trip hazards, lighting, key safe	Family	A weekend
Grab rails, toilet frame, shower seat	OT advice, then supplier or fitter	Days
Straight stairlift	Stairlift supplier	Same or next day from stock
Curved stairlift	Stairlift supplier	2 to 5 weeks
Council grant	Local county council	Often 6 to 12 months

Frequently asked questions

How soon before discharge should we start preparing the house?

As soon as a discharge date is mentioned. Clearing the floor and basic bathroom aids can be done in a weekend, but a curved stairlift or a Home Support package takes longer.

Can a stairlift be fitted before my parent gets home?

Yes. Someone needs to be at the house for the survey and the fitting, but your parent does not have to be. Many families have it fitted so it is ready on the day.

Will the hospital give us equipment?

Sometimes, for example a walking frame or a commode, depending on the hospital and the area. Ask the OT what is being supplied so you do not double up.

Can we get a grant if we have already bought the equipment?

Generally no. Council grants need written approval before work starts. If you need something immediately, renting can bridge the gap without losing the chance of a grant later.

Talk to us

If a parent is coming home soon and the stairs are the worry, we can survey quickly and tell you honestly what will work in the time you have. Book a free home survey through our quotation form or call us on 045 892 696. Family abroad can deal with us by email, and our showroom in Clane, Co Kildare, is open by appointment.