Is there such a thing as a convalescent home any more?

[midlifemelancholy]

A halfway house between hospital
And being at home?
I presume any such facility that exists would be private
I can find stuff for mental health and rehab stuff but not general surgery which is what may be needed

My mum went to a rehab facility for 6 weeks after she had a stroke. It is a private centre, however, mum went as an NHS patient (she didn’t have to pay). However, once the 6 weeks was up she had to leave or if she stayed then she would have had to pay, luckily she was ready to go home (with care).

Thanks for reply, that is interesting. I will keep looking. I am not even sure what the phrases I am looking for is!

From BUPA

https://www.bupa.co.uk/care-services/what-type-of-care-do-i-need/post-operation-and-illness-recovery

You might get some local authority funding towards the costs.

Respite Care might be what you’re looking for

Depends on where you live as to what they are called but they very much exist.

In a lot of areas now it's called 'discharge to assess' so once you are medically fit to leave hospital but not quite ready to go home you get discharged to a care home paid for by the NHS for around 4 weeks to give social services the chance to get thkgs set up for you at home if needed.

There's also at home convalescence called 'reablement' and in some areas there are also 'step down' hospital beds or cottage hospitals.

They do try and get people home as much as possible though as once people have been through hospital + convalescence in a residential setting they can struggle to regain their independence again in the same way they may have done if they had gone straight home from hospital.

My mum is in hospital at the moment after having an accident. She has some broken bones. One of the Drs mentioned that my mum may need to go to rehab if her mobility isn’t stable enough for her to return home when she’s medically fit.

Rehab units, cottage hospitals, carehome offeringshort term care

My step dad stayed in what was referred to as a GP led inpatient ward at the local hospital after being discharged from the main one after a serious illness. Was definitely more hospital than care home, but had loads of physio input etc with a real rehab focus on getting ready to go home after significant hospital stays or surgery

Intermediate care / discharge to assess

Some health authorities have them, some not. MIL was offered this or respite care in a nursing home. I don’t think it was means tested. Where we live they only have respite options and is means tested.

Yes. Friend was recently in a rehab place for 10 weeks after a stroke. That one was stroke specific, but there are lots of different centres and places. We have two hospitals I can think of within 10 miles of here where usually elderly people go after they are released from the main hospital and before they go home, or before a new home is found for those who go on to needing life long care and support.

This is an example of one

https://clch.nhs.uk/services/inpatient-rehabilitation-unit-barnet

In a lot of areas now it's called 'discharge to assess' so once you are medically fit to leave hospital but not quite ready to go home you get discharged to a care home paid for by the NHS for around 4 weeks to give social services the chance to get thkgs set up for you at home if needed.

A friend was recently discharged from hospital to a very nice care home for mobilisation and rehabilitation after a fall. It’s such a good idea. It was to prevent bed blocking as last time she was in hospital way longer than she really needed to be, because she wasn’t mobile enough for home.

Yes they do exist, sometimes as part of district/cottage hospitals, sometimes stand alone and sometimes within a private nursing facility. Post accident or stroke I know people who have gone for rehab or to assess longer term care needs

My aunt went to one this year after breaking her hip. She had the surgery in a regular hospital, then was moved to the recovery based hospital until she was well enough to return home.

What for?
We have cottage hospitals and nursing homes for rehab eg elderly post stroke . Sometimes people self fund eg single person after hip replacement .

My dad in in a general ward at the moment following treatment for an infection which we think was sepsis and is catheterisied. They are talking about discharging with a catheter and I am wondering if there is a halfway house
He is very weak and unsteady on his feet, fell and my mum couldn't get him up which is how he ended up in the ward in the first place

The residential home my relative was in often had a temporary resident who’d had a hip or knee replacement, or just not strong enough to go straight from hospital to home without 24hr care.
They’d also do holiday stays. It was a lovely home, pretty much like a hotel but full of slightly dotty old ladies!
maybe worth looking round your local ones to see if they offer similar?

Are they actually talking about discharge as an imminent prospect or are they 'breaking the news' that the catheter is likely to be long term/ permanent?

Find out what system of discharge they use in that hospital area (I.e. Discharge to Assess or 'traditional' referral to social services on the ward). It may be that any discharge they are talking about isn't necessarily straight home and they have already recognised he's going to need a period of assessment first.

Wards are mostly terrible at communicating discharge plans with family, but be clear at this stage that he is going to need an assessment from adult social care and won't just be returning to the status quo at home.

Yes, a rehab unit. I work on one and they are a very good for the inbetween hospital and home. We have a physio unit too where physio's are on site to help those who require it. We have many patients who have catheters.

There should be a discharge nurse/ discharge facilitator on the ward. Ask one of the other nurses if they can put you in touch with this person and they can discuss what the plans are. Recently my mum was discharged home with a care package that was arranged ( non means tested for first 6 weeks), they had also considered a short stay in the reablement unit ( looked like a private care home ), but agreed at the last minute at mum's request to skip this stage and just go straight to care at home instead.

We send some of our patients to enablement units/ rehab centres with OT's and physios etc quite regularly. Might depend on where you live, there's a fair few around my area.

Hi just to resurrect this thread - has anyone got any contacts/recommendations for this type of facility in Northern Ireland please?
I might ask in a new thread anyway but fingers crossed

Hi @Serenitestorm you'd be better to start your own thread otherwise a bunch of people will come on to answer the OP and won't spot you!

Thanks, I have on Craicnet - will see if I get any help there