Leaving hospital

When deciding if we owe you a legal duty to provide help, one of the things we will look at is whether you have a priority need. You have priority need if you are vulnerable because of: 

• old age;
• mental illness; or
• physical disability. 

When deciding whether you are vulnerable, we will speak to medical professionals, social services and your care providers and will consider all the circumstances, including: 

• the nature and extent of your illness and/or disability;
• the relationship between your illness and/or disability and your housing difficulties; and
• any support you receive and whether you would suffer more harm than an ordinary person if they became homeless. 

If you are being discharged from hospital, we will work with the hospital, your medical team, adult social services and any other necessary support services to ensure: 

• you are given housing advice before you leave hospital;
• you have a personalised housing plan with input from your medical team; and
• you have a care plan to support your needs when you leave, taking into account how your needs are likely to change over time. 

We will work with the hospital team to ensure that you understand your housing plan. We will try to make sure that you are told about your discharge at least 24 hours before it is due to happen, including where you are being moved to, when and the transport arrangements. 

If you had a home when you were admitted to hospital, we can provide support while you are in hospital to help you to keep your home. 

If you rent your property and your household still live there, you should try to keep paying the monthly rental payments so your tenancy will continue. This means that you can return to the property upon your discharge (if that is safe). A partner can make the payments for you, and they may be entitled to receive help from the Government to do so. 

If you own your property with a mortgage, you should pay the mortgage repayments otherwise your bank may try to take your home. If you cannot do this, you should speak to your bank to ask if they can arrange a payment holiday for the period of your hospital stay. There may also be financial help available to pay your mortgage. Shared owners may be able to claim help with the rental costs. 

We can help you negotiate with your landlord or lender. 

We can assess with you whether it is safe for you to return to your previous home, and whether additional support could enable you to return to your previous home, such as adaptations. 

We can help you to make contact with your family (if necessary), to support a return home or possibly to provide a temporary home while you recuperate. 

If you cannot return to your previous home, we can help you find alternative accommodation and consider what additional support services you may need. This might include working out how to make sure you continue to receive the medical care you need and can attend appointments and/or

We will work to find you suitable accommodation that takes account of your changing support needs and that you are happy with. You will have a key role in deciding where you live. 

We can help support your needs in your accommodation. Support could cover many things, including help with: 

• health needs;
• registering with a GP;
• attending medical appointments;
• getting prescriptions;
• contacting adult social services;
• arranging adaptations to your home; and
• accessing specialist services, such as counselling or rehabilitation courses. 

This could be done through a move to supported housing which is housing specifically designed to help with physical and mental needs or independent living with visiting support, which is also known as tenancy sustainment support. 

We may be able to arrange temporary accommodation until you find a permanent home. For example, if your home will not be ready by your discharge date or if you need a short period of additional care until you can return to your usual home. 

We can help you apply for financial help, which could be benefits, discretionary housing payments or financial support to obtain new accommodation. 

We can help you apply for tenancies in the private rented sector if you need a new home. We can also help you apply for social housing, although waiting lists can be very long so this is probably not appropriate as an immediate solution on your discharge from hospital.