For many families, aged care doesn’t start with a planned conversation. It starts with a phone call: Mum has had a fall, Dad has pneumonia, and after a few days in hospital it becomes clear they can’t safely go home on their own. Suddenly there are decisions to make quickly, often under pressure to free up the bed. Knowing what to ask for makes an enormous difference. Here’s the plain-language guide.
First, Ask for the Discharge Planner
Every hospital has staff whose job is planning safe discharges, usually a discharge planner or social worker. Ask to speak to them early, ideally in the first day or two, not on the morning your parent is due to leave.
Tell them clearly if you don’t think your parent can manage safely at home, and why. Families often know things about a parent’s daily life that don’t show up on a ward. A discharge should be planned to be safe, and you’re entitled to raise concerns if you don’t think it is.
Get the Aged Care Assessment Started in Hospital
If your parent hasn’t been assessed for aged care, ask the hospital about arranging it now. Assessments can often happen in hospital, which saves weeks later. If they’re already registered with My Aged Care, check whether their current approval still matches their needs, since a hospital stay often changes things.
Options for the Weeks After Hospital
There are several ways families bridge the gap between hospital and longer-term arrangements.
Transition care is short-term support for older people after a hospital stay, designed to help them recover and regain independence. It’s usually provided for up to 12 weeks, sometimes longer, either at home or in a residential setting, and generally needs to be arranged before your parent leaves hospital. Ask the discharge planner about eligibility.
Short-term restorative support under Support at Home can provide therapy and nursing to help someone recover at home for a period.
Residential respite offers a short stay in an aged care home, which can give everyone breathing space while you work out what comes next. It’s arranged through My Aged Care and the home.
And if your parent’s needs are clearly long term, a permanent aged care home may be the right step, though families shouldn’t feel rushed into that decision from a hospital bed.
If Permanent Care Is the Answer
Moving straight from hospital into an aged care home is common, but the paperwork and money decisions are significant. You generally have time after moving in to decide how to pay for the room, so you don’t need to sell the family home in a panic. Our guides to choosing an aged care home and to what an aged care home costs walk through both.
Sort the Legal Side Too
A hospital stay is often when families discover they can’t legally act for a parent. If your parent still has capacity, this is the moment to talk about an enduring power of attorney and a guardian, and to register as a supporter with My Aged Care. Our guide to power of attorney and guardianship explains each one.
Where to Get Help
My Aged Care is on 1800 200 422. A free Aged Care Specialist Officer at Services Australia can help on 1800 227 475. The Older Persons Advocacy Network offers free, independent advocacy on 1800 700 600 if you feel your parent is being discharged unsafely. And the Carer Gateway on 1800 422 737 supports you, the carer, through it. General information is on My Aged Care.
The Bottom Line
When a parent can’t safely go home from hospital, ask for the discharge planner early, get the aged care assessment started in hospital, and ask about transition care, restorative support and respite to bridge the gap. Don’t let bed pressure rush you into a permanent decision, and use the hospital stay to sort the legal paperwork while your parent can still sign it. This is general information, not medical, aged care or legal advice.
Epik Wire covers aged care in plain language for older Australians and their families. Subscribe to our newsletter to stay informed.
