Hospital Bag
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It's useful to have a bag ready prepared in advance in case your loved one has an unplanned trip to hospital - you might not be there when it's needed, and if you are there you'll want to concentrate on comforting your loved one. It's also useful to have a bag with some things you'll need, and a checklist of people that need to be informed, such as visiting carers or arrangements for looking after pets.
Our checklists and forms on this page may be printed out in accordance with our standard terms and conditions - the printed versions have additional blank lines for you to fill in your loved one's details by hand. Alternatively, as a limited amendment to those terms and conditions, in place of printing copies on paper you may copy and paste the checklists and forms on this page into a document to edit and type in details specific to the person you're caring for and then print them, so long as you retain the template copyright statement at the end of the checklist of contents, and note that all other parts of our standard terms and conditions still apply.
Preparing the bag itself
Make sure the bag (e.g. a holdall) is large enough to hold both the 'in advance' contents and the 'last minute' contents.
Keep the bag somewhere accessible, but where someone with dementia is unlikely to extract items from it. If you have visiting carers make sure they know where the bag is and to use the checklist to add the 'last minute' items. Also put those details somewhere they'll be found by an ambulance crew, such as on the fridge. Make sure your contact details are clear.
Securely attach a label to the outside of the bag: 'Hospital Bag' and with your loved one's name. Sensitive information such as address is best kept inside.
Securely attach a label to the inside of the bag with the basic details listed below, since the full detail sheets (further below) are likely to be separated from the bag at the hospital.
Put in the 'in advance' documents and contents, and the checklist of contents to add at the 'last minute' on top.
Whenever medications or the care plan change, update the bag.
Periodically check that the 'in advance' contents are all present still.
Label to attach inside the bag
• Full name (and preferred name)
• Date of birth
• NHS/other medical number
• Contact name, relationship and phone numbers, and for secondary contacts
Documents to prepare in advance
• Full name (and preferred name)
• Date of birth
• NHS/other medical number
• Key medical information 'at a glance' (level of dementia, mobility issues, dysphagia level, allergies, medical conditions etc)
• Language if not English
• Address
• Contact name, relationship and phone numbers, and for secondary contacts
• GP surgery/office name, address and phone number
• Medical insurance details, where applicable
• Medication list attached Yes / No
• Care plan attached Yes / No
• Signed copies of any resuscitation and treatment plans (list below / none)
Medication list: in addition to the list of prescriptions, include any non-prescription medications.
Care plan: if your loved one doesn't have a comprehensive care plan prepared for visiting carers then see our section on care plans for the sort of information to prepare in advance, in addition to the above form. Not all care plan areas will be relevant to your loved one, and some aren't relevant to a hospital stay. If your loved one does have visiting carers then discuss with their provider whether they can supply a spare copy of the care plan for placing in the hospital bag in advance, or whether it's safe to place the plan in the bag 'last minute', or whether you'll need to copy out the important sections in advance.
Checklist of contents
Tick off items as they're added to the bag. Make sure it's clear which items remain to be added 'last minute', and add a note of where each last minute item can be found.
• Keep this completed checklist in the bag, on top until the 'last minute' contents have been added, and then below the other documents so you can make sure to bring everything back
• On top - documents prepared in advance, including the person's details, any medication list, care plan and resuscitation and treatment plans
• Medication list if to be last minute (including non-prescription)
• Care plan if to be last minute
• Medication*
• Drink thickener (if used for dysphagia)*
• Continence products
• Drinking aids and eating aids if used
• Walking aid where practical
• Hearing aids
• Spare batteries for hearing aids
• Glasses and case
• Mobile phone, with sufficient credits
• Charger for mobile phone if long stay
• Tooth care (toothbrush (and charger if long stay), toothpaste, dentures, box and denture cream* etc)
• Shaver (and charger if long stay)
• Nightie / pyjamas
• Dressing gown
• Slippers
• Shoes
• Several pairs of underwear
• A couple of pairs of socks
• A change or two of day clothes
• Shawl
• Face cloth
• Hairbrush / comb
• Deodorant*
• Dry shampoo*
• Body wash*
• Sleep/eye mask and ear plugs (unlikely to be appropriate for dementia)
• Tissues
• Entertainment (e.g. headphones to listen to music on a mobile phone, or photo book)
• Notepad and pen or pencil
• Snacks and drink
• Change for vending machines etc
• Large plastic bags (binliners) for bringing back soiled clothing
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* For someone with dementia, items marked with an asterisk may not be safe to add until the last minute, unless the whole hospital bag can be kept safe inside a cupboard with a child-proof lock.
Where practical, label important things - especially a mobile phone, walking aid, glasses etc.
Try not to pack more than is required - people often have to move wards, and you want their essentials to move with them rather than just a selection of a mountain of belongings.
Checklist of contents for your bag as carer
• Keep this completed checklist in the bag, so you can make sure to bring everything back
• Completed checklist of people to inform etc
• Signed copy of any power of attorney for health and welfare
• Extra copy of documents prepared in advance, including the person's details, any medication list, care plan and resuscitation and treatment plans
• Notepad and pen
• Change for car parking, vending machines etc
• Snacks and drink
• Hand sanitiser
• Tissues
• If needed to wash drinking aids and eating aids - washing up liquid and sheets of kitchen roll
Checklist of people to inform etc
Fill in contact details in advance:
• Visiting carers
• Other visiting helpers (cleaner, shopper etc)
• Meals on wheels
• Medicine delivery
• Shopping delivery
• Any appointments that will be missed (medical, hairdresser etc)
• Arrangements for pets
• Other family members