Sheila was referred to the Home from Hospital Service from the Accident and Emergency department at North Tees University Hospital. Sheila is 81 years old and lives in Thornaby and had a problem with her stomach and then had a serious fall in her home.
Megan, Five Lamps Home from Hospital Support Worker was assigned to support Sheila to get back on her feet on her discharge from hospital.
Megan has supported Sheila to organise her medication and she is also organising a re-enablement service to come in to help her with showering and her meals for the day.
Megan now also assists Sheila to hospital appointments and offers one to one support to help lift her mood as she felt upset that she had, had such a serious fall.
A family friend of Sheila’s said of the service provided,
“Megan is kind, compassionate and very helpful. She made Sheila feel relaxed and much happier. She began the process of referrals to various agencies and reassured Sheila (and me) that help was available to her. She was absolutely brilliant and a credit to your service.”
Due to the service that Sheila has received she now feels more confident in her home and she is growing stronger day by day.
Five Lamps Home from Hospital Service is funded by the National Lottery Communiity Fund and helps people coming out of hospital with anything from their transport home; ensuring the heating works and the house is tidy; collecting shopping or prescriptions and liaising with a wide range of other services to reduce the chance that this person will end up back in hospital. The service supports the over 50’s coming out of North Tees University Hospital to ‘get back on their feet.’ Our Support Workers can also provide a vital link between the older person and the outside world at a time when they are still recovering from an accident or illness and encourage them to be involved in social inclusion activities.