Not to be confused with convalescent care, postoperative care is the type of care that patients receive following a medical procedure. Depending on the type of surgery a patient undergoes, the level of care that is delivered is likely to be more or less involved.
Delivered either in home or through medical facilities, postoperative care is primarily focused on helping patients recover from various side effects caused by a procedure.
Learn more about postoperative care and how My Care My Home can help you arrange it.
What is Postoperative Care?
As its name suggests, postoperative care is implemented immediately after a patient is discharged from hospital with the hopes of supporting their recovery after a medical procedure.
Often delivered by district nurses and support workers as well as other healthcare professionals, the care provided can range from aiding with mobility around the home to administering medication at the right times. Regardless, the type of support that is offered is always bound to the type of medical procedure that has been undertaken.
Here are some common tasks involved with postoperative care:
• Pain management
• Assisting physical mobility
• Changing dressings and assessing surgical sites
• Monitoring vital signs
Who is Postoperative Care For?
Specifically tailored for outpatients, postoperative care is largely utilised by those who are unable to recover from surgery without additional support. Certain people are more likely to require postoperative care than others, those being:
Physical Procedure Patients
Physical procedures can sometimes be more demanding when it comes to postoperative care. Some operations like knee replacements can impose recovery times of up to three months, with mobility issues being observed for the whole duration.
Postoperative care provides patients with further support to a wider physiotherapy regime, boosting physical abilities and subsequently reducing recovery times.
Family Members
After surgery, many patients often rely on their families to help them with a multitude of tasks.
From buying food to simply providing companionship, postoperative care also further benefit family members as it reduces the strain on their lives.
Elderly People
Due to a reduction in physical ability, senior citizens are much more likely to require postoperative care than others. In which, teams with many years of experience in working with elderly people will deliver a range of postoperative care services like medication management or assisting with hygiene procedures.
How My Care My Home Can Help
As with all care services, postoperative care aims to improve quality of life and allow patients to live comfortably. However, unlike other forms of care, postoperative care is time-bound and can be cancelled when it is no longer needed.
For a well-rounded approach to care, My Care My Home can help. We are a home care services provider with several years of experience in the sector. Backed by a professional team of care specialists, we can meet the demands of individuals with varied needs in pursuit of supporting them with a whole host of conditions.
We appreciate that providing care can be a daunting task. Whether you’re a concerned family member or looking to source care yourself, we can help. From arranging care needs and capacity assessments to providing independent financial advice, we are always on-hand to ensure that you feel supported throughout these difficult times.
The Process
Despite our process being highly bespoke, there are some standardised steps to our approach:
1. Initial Consultation
The consultation stage is arguably the most important part of our entire process. It is where we get to know you and understand more about your daily challenges and difficulties. After we’ve spoken with you, our team works tirelessly to identify potential ways in which we can help you source and provide care for yourself or someone you love.
2. Ongoing Support
After our consultation, we start introducing some care services that we feel are appropriate for your situation. During which, we will keep in close contact with all relevant parties from doctors, nurses and family members to ensure that everything is running smoothly.
3. The Future
Time affects a lot of things, to which care is no stranger. So, as time goes on, a member of our team will retain a consistent form of contact with you to see if any part of our services can be improved.