Hospital discharge checklist

Last reviewed: 17 July 2026

If you're coordinating a relative's discharge from hospital — especially from a distance, or alongside work and your own family — it's easy to miss something in the handover. This checklist is written for the person doing that coordinating, not the patient. Print it, or tick through it on your phone.

It's general guidance, not a substitute for what the hospital's own discharge planning team tells you about your relative's specific situation. Always check details against them directly.

Before discharge

• Ask who is coordinating the discharge — this may be a discharge planning nurse, a liaison nurse, or a medical social worker attached to the ward. Get a name and a way to contact them.
• Ask directly: "what supports does my relative need to go home safely, and who arranges them?"
• If your relative may need help with everyday tasks at home (washing, dressing, getting in and out of bed), ask the discharge team about applying for theHSE Home Support Servicewhile still in hospital — it can be applied for from the ward, and approval before discharge can mean support is in place when your relative gets home.
• Confirm who has been asked about the Home Support Service application on your relative's behalf — it may be the ward nurse, a discharge coordinator, or a social worker, and this varies by hospital, so ask rather than assume.
• Ask for a written list of medications on discharge, and check it against what your relative was taking before admission — flag any changes with the team before you leave.
• Ask what follow-up appointments are being arranged, and who is arranging them (hospital outpatients vs. GP).
• Check whether the discharge summary will be sent to the GP, and ask for a copy for yourself if you're coordinating care.
• Arrange transport home, and check whether any equipment (walking frame, commode, etc.) is needed on arrival — ask the discharge team where that's sourced from.
• If you can't be there in person, ask for a phone update from the discharge coordinator before the discharge date, not after.

The first 48 hours at home

• Check that any arranged home support has actually started — if it hasn't, contact your local HSE Home Support Office (find your area's number via hse.ie, or call HSE Live on 1800 700 700 if you're not sure which office to contact) or the number given at discharge.
• Make sure medication is being taken as prescribed — mismatched old and new medication is a common source of problems after discharge.
• Watch for any change in condition — new confusion, pain, breathlessness, or a fall. If something feels seriously wrong, this is a matter for a GP, out-of-hours GP service, or in an emergency, 999/112 — not something to judge yourself.
• Keep the discharge paperwork, medication list, and follow-up appointment details somewhere obvious — not filed away.
• Check the home itself is set up safely — clear paths, working lighting, any equipment in place.

The first week

• Confirm the GP has received the discharge summary — if not, ask the hospital to send it, or bring a copy yourself.
• Attend or arrange attendance at any follow-up appointments.
• Check in daily, or arrange for someone local to check in, on how your relative is actually managing day to day — not just clinically, but with meals, mobility, and mood.
• If things aren't going as well as expected, contact the GP or the Home Support Office to ask about reassessing the level of support in place.
• Note anything that felt unclear or missed during discharge — useful if there's a next hospital stay.

Other pages that may help

• Who do I call? — for working out who to contact for a given situation.
• Emergency contacts — a printable card of the numbers worth having ready.
• HSE Home Support Service overview — more detail on what it covers and how it's assessed, beyond applying before discharge.

Source: HSE.ie — Home Support Service for older people. For anything specific to your relative's care, the hospital's own discharge planning team is the right first call.