Going into and leaving hospital
If you need transport to get to and from hospital you may be able to access the patients transport service.
If you need care and support and you are due to be discharged from hospital, you may be eligible for support from our Adult Social Care.
If you've been in hospital for less than 3 days the hospital may refer you to the Urgent Community Response to help you return home.
If you've been in hospital longer than 3 days, (and you or the ward staff feel you may have care and support needs), please ask the hospital ward to refer you to Southwark’s Hospital Discharge Team. The social workers in the Hospital Discharge Team will visit you on the ward and help to coordinate your discharge. Wherever possible, the team will aim to return you to your own home.
Some of the options from discharge may be to:
- refer you to the Intermediate Care Southwark (ICS) to help you regain your independence
- refer you to other support such as telecare and services in the community
- assess your care needs under the Care Act 2014. This will tell us whether you are entitled to further support from adult social care.
If you wish to make a comment or complaint about your hospital treatment, the following services may be useful:
- King's Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS)
- Guy's and St Thomas' PALS
- South London and Maudsley PALS
- Independent NHS Complaints Advocacy Service
You will find on this page under ‘documents’ a leaflet that provides information about care and support for adults with care needs in Southwark. You can download and print this leaflet.
Page last updated: 27 March 2023
