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CareMapIreland

Situation

When someone is coming home from hospital

How discharge planning works in Ireland, what to ask the discharge team, and what to put in place before they come home.

Last reviewed: 11 September 2026Verified

A Home Support application can be made while someone is still in hospital. The HSE's own guidance is to ask the person managing the discharge plan for a Home Support application form as early as possible.

It is useful to raise practical concerns about going home before discharge, so the team knows about them. Ask who is coordinating the practical arrangements and which hospital or community professionals are involved.

First steps

  1. Ask the person managing the discharge plan for a Home Support application form, as early as possible
  2. Ask who is coordinating the practical arrangements for going home, and how to contact them
  3. Describe the home honestly: stairs, bathroom, who else lives there, what family can realistically do
  4. Ask what has been arranged, by whom, and what will be in place on the first day home

Who can help, and what each of them does

Ask for people by role. It is the quickest way past a general phone number.

The person managing the discharge plan
The HSE's guidance is to ask this person for a Home Support application form as early as possible. Ask them who is coordinating the practical arrangements for going home, and how to contact them.
Hospital professionals who may be involved
Depending on the hospital and the person's needs, medical social work, occupational therapy and physiotherapy may be involved in planning the return home. Ask which of them is involved in this case rather than assuming.
The local HSE Home Support Office
The office for the person's area handles Home Support applications. A person can apply while in hospital, and it is worth confirming with the office what has been received.
Their GP and community services
The people who pick things up once the person is home. It is worth making sure they know about the discharge and what has changed.

What to have ready

None of this is a formal requirement we can promise on anyone's behalf — it is simply what tends to be asked for, and having it written down saves repeating yourself.

  • An honest description of the house: stairs, where the bathroom is, whether there is a downstairs toilet, heating, and whether anyone else is there at night
  • What family can genuinely do in the first fortnight, by day and by name
  • The information requested on the current HSE Home Support application form, in case an application is made from the ward — check the current form, because it can change
  • The ward name, and the name of whoever is managing the discharge plan
  • A written list of your concerns, so the same points do not have to be re-explained to each staff member

Questions worth asking

Ask as early as possible before discharge

  • Can we have a Home Support application form, and who should it go to?
  • Who is coordinating the practical arrangements for going home, and how do I contact them?
  • Which hospital or community professionals are involved in planning the return home?
  • What will actually be in place on the first day and the first night at home?
  • Is any equipment coming, when, and who delivers it?
  • Which medications have changed, and who explains them to us before we leave?
  • Who do we contact in the first week if things are not working?
  • Is a follow-up appointment or review arranged?

Ask the local HSE Home Support Office

  • Has an application been received from the hospital, or should we apply directly ourselves?
  • What is the next step, and who will contact us?
  • Who should we tell if the situation at home changes after discharge?

What can happen next

Possible paths, not predictions. Decisions about assessment, hours and timing are made by the HSE locally, and we never claim to know the outcome in advance.

  • A needs assessment after a completed applicationOnce a completed application form is received, the HSE arranges an assessment of need, carried out by a healthcare professional — most often the public health nurse. Ask the discharge team who is arranging it and when.
  • Support that helps someone return homeIf 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.
  • You are written to with the outcomeThe HSE writes with the outcome of the assessment. We cannot tell you what will be approved, or when it will start.
  • A different picture two weeks laterThe first fortnight home often shows what was missed. If circumstances change, contact the local Home Support Office — the HSE may review support and increase it, reduce it or keep it the same.

What to do while you wait

  • Get the first week covered by family, neighbours or paid help if you can, and write down who is doing what
  • Keep a short daily note for the first two weeks, so you can describe specifics rather than general worry
  • Look at the bathroom and the stairs before they come home
  • Check the fridge, heating and medication supply on the day of discharge
  • If you have practical concerns about the plan, raise them before discharge so the team knows about them, and ask for them to be recorded

Support that often applies here

Relevant does not mean approved. Each of these has its own assessment or decision process, run by the HSE, a local authority or the Department of Social Protection.

Guides that help you prepare

Where the facts on this page come from

How the system works is taken from the official pages below. Everything else here is practical experience of dealing with that system, not official guidance — and none of it is clinical or legal advice.