Home from Hospital: Mrs Enfield's Story

Mrs Enfield had been living independently when she unfortunately suffered a fall, which led to spending four weeks in hospital to recover. Readjusting to life after a fall or a hospital stay can be daunting and challenging, and at the age of 96 Mrs Enfield needed some support as she continued her recovery at home. 

Referred to us by an occupational therapist, we sent our Home from Hospital team to help Mrs Enfield regain some of her independence and support her as she readjusted to life at home. After getting to know her and establishing a rapport, it was clear that Mrs Enfield needed support with things like shopping and cleaning, which was a consequence of her living alone and being isolated from the rest of her family. This is often a common barrier that older people face, but it’s one that can be particularly challenging after a stay in Hospital when confidence can be shaken.  

We started by assigning a volunteer to help Mrs Enfield directly for the first weeks of being at home, helping to clean the house, pick up shopping and just provide some general companionship. Following on from this and with her consent, we also referred Mrs Enfield to our companion line for regular calls, which helped her to combat isolation and loneliness when nobody was at the house with her.  

Unfortunately, Mrs Enfield suffered two further smaller falls while recovering at home, so we contacted the occupational therapist to have more equipment installed into the house to try and prevent any more falls going forward. We then also discussed and agreed to provide a Home Energy Check, which also alerted us to the fact that Mrs Enfield had no Carbon Monoxide detector and her Smoke alarms were old and needed replacing. After ensuring the house was safe and optimised for recovery, we then looked at providing food brochures and links to long-term meal support. 

Throughout using our free Home from Hospital Service, Mrs Enfield was able to regain her independence and also reap the benefits of other services that she was previously unaware of. Her family were thankful for the help we provided and noted that the companionship offered was vital as they lived a large distance away. 

If you think you or someone you love may benefit from using our Home from Hospital service then please get in touch. Any health or social care professional, relative or friend can refer you or enquire on your behalf — or you can refer yourself by calling 0800 008 6077. 

 Find out more about the service on our website here: https://bit.ly/49NTX9M