Home safety and coming home from hospital

The two weeks after a discharge decide more about recovery than anything else, and they are the two weeks families are least prepared for. Discharges happen quickly, advice is given verbally, and the house has not changed.

These checklists cover the physical home — where a fall is most likely, what to bolt to the wall, what to move off the floor — and the logistics of coming back: medicines, equipment, follow-up appointments, transport and the first night.

Print them. A list on paper gets used by the person standing in the bathroom at 6am; a list on a phone does not.