Why prepare questions before discharge?
Because discharge day is rushed. You are tired, the family is waiting and the team is moving to the next bed. A short list helps you leave with answers instead of worries.
The same list works at Hospital Raja Permaisuri Bainun, Fatimah Hospital, KPJ Ipoh Specialist Hospital or Pantai Hospital Ipoh. Write the questions down before the doctor arrives, and write the answers as you hear them. Our parent question checklist is a printable version.
Which three questions matter most?
If you have only a minute, ask these.
- What can and can’t I do with my body for now?
- Which signs mean I should come back or call?
- When and where is my next review?
What should I ask about my condition?
- What was the diagnosis or operation, in plain words?
- Is there anything the scans or tests showed that I should know?
- What should recovery look like over the coming weeks?
What should I ask about moving and daily life?
- Can I put full weight on the leg or arm?
- Which movements must I avoid, and for how long?
- Can I use the stairs and the bathroom alone?
- Can I shower, and how do I keep a wound dry?
- When can I drive, travel or return to work?
Our guide to stairs, driving and work after surgery shows how to judge each.
What should I ask about medicines and equipment?
- Which medicines, what dose, when, and for how long?
- Which ones can cause drowsiness or affect my balance?
- Do I need a walking aid, commode, brace or hospital bed at home?
- Who arranges and teaches me how to use them?
What should I ask about follow-up and warning signs?
- When is my review, with which doctor, at which clinic?
- Will rehabilitation be arranged by the hospital, and when?
- Which signs mean the emergency department: chest pain, breathlessness, fever, a swollen painful calf, new weakness?
- Who do I call after hours?
What should I ask about physiotherapy?
Ask whether you need it, when it should start and what exercises to do until then. Ask for the exercises in writing or on video.
Ask whether a private or home physiotherapist is fine, and what to bring. Our page on continuing hospital physio at home explains the handover, and bringing the surgeon’s instructions lists the papers.
What should the family ask?
Who will be home during the day, what the helper needs to be taught and whether anyone can be trained before discharge. If the patient is a parent, our guide on caring for parents in Ipoh from KL helps long-distance families.
How do we help?
Once you have the answers, we turn them into a home plan. Home visits across Ipoh are available now through our home physiotherapy service. Our Canning Garden centre, near Fatimah Hospital, is opening soon, and we quote prices on WhatsApp.