Dad discharged himself from hospital what next ?

[hevs03]

My Dad (69) was hospitalized 3 weeks ago, he had been very breathless & after falling at home the paramedics took him in. It was discovered he had a big build up of fluid so he was put on medication & he slowly got better. He also has a problem with his legs, they are swollen, red, I should add he is very overweight so mobility is not good. During his time in hospital I visited pretty much every day after work, but never saw a doctor & the nurses just kept telling me he was doing ok.
I hate that he has discharged himself & dont know what to do next, especially as he has stated his legs are still causing him problems. Do I contact PALS to get his medical notes from his hospital stay, his GP,? also as he lives on his own he was visited by I think a social worker whist in hospital who advised him he would need a care package put in place. Do I contact the social services at the council for that? Sorry so many questions but I've never had to deal with this before. Thanks

You need to contact Social Services, I presume he hasn’t got his discharge notes or anything in writing to say what course of treatment is required. You could ring GP whilst you are with him, I presume notes on hospital stay will be forwarded onto them.

there isn't much you can do. If he was deemed to have capacity to self-discharge then it's him that needs to be in contact to get the notes, etc. The hospital should normally still send a discharge summary to the GP so eventually that may be available to give some info.

Why do you want his notes? If he has capacity a dsar needs to be made by him. Social services, interim care or reenablement team can assess and support him at home.

Ring social services they should be able to give you the right number for the people sorting a care package

You can’t get his notes. They’re his private medical information. If he will engage in a care package the contact social services. If he would be self funding then you can go direct to a private company.

What does your DF want to happen? What is he willing to accept?

His GP should be able to get District Nurses involved; he may have missed out on the hospital organised care package as he discharged himself.
His GP may ask him if it’s okay to talk to you but there’s no right for you to know what’s going on. I’d step back and let them sort it out as he’s not compliant.

Thank you for all the advice it's much appreciated