Post operative care at home

Post operative care, is care people hire when they have just undergone an operation and need a helping hand to get back on their feet. Before you are discharged from the hospital, you will undergo an assessment which would state whether post operative care is necessary or not. In our 14 years of experience in the care industry we would advise elderly people to look into post operative care, to ensure a peace of mind knowing you are safe and should anything go wrong there is someone there to help. Post operative patients must be monitored and assessed closely for a set period of time after they have had surgery to look out for any deterioration in condition or signs of infection.

Post operative care at home is necessary if someone is in significant pain, family members live too far away to provide frequent help, needs regular check up or physiotherapy appointments or unable to move freely. Having a carer ensures that an easy, successful and sustainable recovery is achieved.

Guardian Carers recommend you plan your post operative carer in advance so you can be assured there is a carer in place for you or your loved one as soon as your are discharged from the hospital. By hiring a post operative carer in advance they can make sure everything is set up before you get home, for example have all the medication and necessary equipment working to ensure a smooth and seamless transition between the hospital and coming home.

What is the role of a post operative care nurse

The role of your post operative carer doesn't start when you get home from the hospital, here at Guardian Carers we can arrange for your carer to pick you up from the hospital and take you home. Your carer can make sure that you have everything ready, such as food in the fridge and the necessary equipment and medication before you get home.

Your post operative carer would be in charge of:

• Preparing healthy meals and hot beverages throughout the day
• Ensuring you take all medication needed and reordering if required
• Checking your vitals are okay
• Working any medical equipment and sorting it out if there are any problems
• Keeping your household neat and tidy
• Liaising with doctors, family members and friends
• Taking you for walks around the neighbourhood or local park
• Personal care and hygiene such as helping with bathing
• Re dressing and cleaning wounds

Your carer is there to assist you with almost everything, from household chores to personal care. The role of a post operative care is to ensure you make a speedy uncomplicated recovery as possible.

When hiring post operative carers we look for a range of attributes and qualifications such as reliability, compassion and patience however we believe that, one of, if not the most important attribute of a post operative carer should have is being observant. Observance is key as in the first few days and week after having a major operation the chances of an infection or other complications is the highest. Your carer must be alert and continuously checking your vitals and stitches to reduce the impact of any infection or take you to hospital immediately if there is a start of an infection.