Going home
After your visit, the doctor or nurse will tell you when you are ready to go home. They will also tell you what may happen next and answer any questions you have.
What happens next?
After your visit, you may need to:
- have some tests to find out more
- take medicine to help you feel better
- see a physiotherapist to help with movement
- see a doctor or nurse again for further check-ups.
The doctor or nurse will tell you and your parent or carer what they have found out about your health. They will explain what happens next. You will have plenty of time to ask questions.
They will also tell your GP or local hospital about your care. They may tell your teacher as well, if you need any extra help when you go back to school.
They will tell you who to call if you are worried or have any questions when you get home. There may even be a group of young people with the same condition as you who get together regularly. The doctor or nurse can let you know about people you can talk to or groups you can join.
Medicines
If you need medicine, you and your parent or carer will need to collect it from the pharmacy on Level 0 – Ocean.
The pharmacist will prepare your medicine and tell you more about it. They will tell you what your medicine will do and the best time to take it. If you have any questions, you can ask the pharmacist.
Staying in touch
If you have been in hospital for a long time it may feel strange to leave. You may feel that you will miss your new friends and feel anxious about leaving life in hospital.
When you go home, you can stay in touch with your friends from hospital. You may want to meet up with other young people who have the same condition as you. The nurse on your ward can tell you about any groups who meet to:
- get together for outings like bowling and trips to the cinema
- talk about how they feel.
And there are lots of ways to keep in touch with Evelina London. You could:
- become a member – and tell us how we can make the hospital even better for young people like you
- raise money – by organising activities at home or at school
Moving on
As you get older, you may carry on needing care and support to manage your health. This may mean that you will eventually be cared for by a team who care for adults. This is sometimes called transition.
If you need long-term care and support, we will start to talk to you about this when you are about 12 years old. We will work with you and your parents or carers to plan your care. Together, we will all work out a transition plan – a step-by-step plan to make sure that you move into adult services when it is best for you.
During this time, the doctors and nurses that you know at Evelina London will continue to be involved in your care.
Your team of doctors and nurses will be there to answer any questions you may have during the transition to adult services. We may also be able to help you to find other young people who are making the transition too.
The transition to adult services can feel a bit scary, but we will work with you to make sure that you know what is happening every step of the way and that you are involved in decisions about your care.