Leaving the hospital after a stroke is an important step for all stroke survivors and each person will have different needs. You may make a complete recovery after the stroke and go home without any support or you may need some help to be organised for you.

You should be provided with a contact person, either in the hospital or near home, who you can ask if you have any questions. The stroke team will normally organise a meeting with you and your family before you leave the hospital. If you need equipment in the home, an occupational therapist will go to your home to see what is needed and you and your carer will be trained in the use of any equipment you receive.

The National Stroke Foundation has developed and piloted The Hospital Peer Support Program (HPSP) as a strategy to provide timely access to psychosocial information and peer support for stroke survivors and carers as they transition from hospital to home.

Residential Care

Before you leave the hospital, the stroke team will talk to you and your family or carer to work out the best place for you to go and what you may need. Some people require more help or support than can be given at home and choose to move into a residential care facility.

Occasionally people who are recovering slowly after a stroke may move into residential care for a short to medium time and be reassessed later to see if they can manage at home or would benefit from further rehabilitation in hospital.

Community Services

The stroke team will also give you information about the people and agencies who will work with you when you leave. Once you leave hospital your care should be coordinated by your local doctor although you might have follow-up appointments with the specialist doctors you saw in hospital. Extra services might be organised to help you and your family to cope if you return home.

These community services (eg. meals on wheels, help with showering and dressing, help with shopping etc) are provided to carry on helping after the hospital services may have stopped. You should talk to the team about available services.

The stroke team will make sure you have a plan for your ongoing care and will talk (and/or write) to the people who will be giving you any help in the future, including your GP.