What happens to an elderly person after an operation if no is at home to care for them?

[user295849]

What would happen to an elderly person who has had an operation to fix a broken pelvis.
Would they be sent home if no family is around to care for them?

It sounds like they would need plenty of physio and rehab first before they would be able to look after themselves or even by looked after at home, so possibly a rehab placement? That was what was offered to my MIL

Depends on local arrangements; where I am they'd be sent to a community hospital for rehab or a nursing home if beds not available. If they were able to mobilise and subject to assessment, they'd be sent home with a suitable package of care.

This is of course dependent on all these services being available

They can usually be sent to a rehab place while they recover. Hospital will arrange it if there is no one at home to assist them with their recovery.

They'd go to a specialist rehab place, my mum used to work in one, they had a mixture of old and young people who required extra care. Some were eventually discharged home whilst others go into care homes. They looked after a variety of people from serious accidents to people who had strokes etc. They don't want to keep someone in hospital longer than necessary but equally they can't discharge someone home who still requires a lot of care and support.

When I worked in a nursing home we often had people in while they removed from hip ops

In a perfect world they get rehab on the ward or go to a community hospital.

In reality they sit on the ward waiting for ages until they get a UTI or chest infection and then spend weeks in hospital before finally going to community hospital.

Thank you all for the helpful information

My dad’s just been discharged from hospital while not completely better, nor able to walk. He’s in something called “intermediate enhanced care”, which is a place with physios, nurses and a Dr by day. It’s meant to be building him up to getting home. They allow up to four weeks there.

@SizzlingInTheBakingHeat are you in the uk? Worked for 25 years in the NHS and I’ve never heard of such a place.

@MrsFionaCharming is spot on.

if they are lucky they might go to a community hospital or a nursing home and get physio once or twice a day.

My dad keeps getting the UTI and having to go back to hospital, where they discharge him so quickly back to the rehab place before he’s well enough, and the cycle repeats. It’s terrifying. I feel they’re going to actually kill him with this sooner or later.

For those with £ we have a lovely private place you can go to here, lots of one to one physio, nice food and 🍷. But for most of us, as op have said.

In my case after a major abdominal op, nothing. I had to get on with it myself,
not even a phone call from GP to check on progress.

When my mum had a major operation she was discharged after a month to a rehab place. She was there for two weeks before being discharged to my house for another month. However the rehab place closed. When she broke her hip it was pinned and two weeks later she was sent home with two carers coming in 4 times a day for six weeks.