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CareMapIreland

Guide

HSE Home Support after a hospital discharge

How to ask about HSE Home Support while someone is still in hospital in Ireland, who to ask, and what to do if support is not in place when they come home.

4 min read

Last reviewed: 11 September 2026Verified

The short answer

A person can apply for HSE Home Support while they are in hospital. The HSE's guidance is to ask the person managing the discharge plan for a Home Support application form as early as possible.

If home support is approved while the person is in hospital, it may help them return home, and their needs may be reassessed shortly after they get home.

Who to ask

Ask the person managing the discharge plan who is coordinating the practical arrangements, and which hospital or community professionals are involved in this case.

  • Medical social work, occupational therapy and physiotherapy are roles that may be involved, depending on the hospital and the person's needs
  • Ask which of them is involved rather than assuming any particular service is available
  • Ask how to contact whoever is coordinating the arrangements

Ask these questions as early as possible before discharge

  • Can we have a Home Support application form, and who should it be sent to?
  • What help has been arranged, by whom, and starting when?
  • Is any equipment coming, and when?
  • Who do we contact in the first week if it is not working?
  • Is a follow-up appointment or review arranged?

If support is not yet in place

  • Say clearly what the family can and cannot cover, and ask for it to be recorded
  • Contact the Home Support Office for the person's address to confirm what has been received
  • Tell the office if circumstances change — the HSE may review support and increase it, reduce it or keep it the same
  • Private home care may be worth considering as an optional temporary or top-up arrangement if it is affordable, while you confirm the public application status with the office

If returning home does not feel manageable

It is useful to raise practical concerns before discharge, in specific terms, so that the team knows about them. Describing what happens on a normal day at home — stairs, the bathroom, nights, who is there — is more useful than a general worry.

Sources

This guide is general information, not medical, legal or financial advice.