This page lists information to help you prepare for a hospital stay, support services for carers and patients and for those coming out of hospital.
We list many events and services on this website from other organisations and we do this in good faith. Please be aware that a listing on this website is not a service endorsement or recommendation. We urge you to do your own research about all organisations before using their services and to check the times and dates of events with them before attending them. We rely on service providers to tell us if their service provision or contact details change. Good places to check organisations include: the Care Quality Commission, Check a Trade, the Charity Commission and for each sector there is usually a professional service regulator, for example the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
AccessAble, the new name for DisabledGo, is Your Accessibility Guide - here to take the chance out of going out. 10,000s of places - visited in person. Read more
From 1st August 2016 onwards, all organisations that provide NHS care and / or publicly-funded adult social care are legally required to follow the Accessible Information Standard. The Standard sets out a specific, consistent approach to identifying, recording, flagging, sharing and meeting the information and communication support needs of patients, service users, carers and parents with a disability, impairment or sensory loss. Read more
Tell the hospital in advance of needs so staff can help e.g. - information such as braille, large print or easy read - support from advocate or interpreter at your appointments - hearing loop or visual alert - a communication passport Read more
A patient group set up to help improve services for cancer patients at Southampton General Hospital Read more
Some NHS guides on care arrangements after a stay in hospital. Read more
Communicare's Homecoming Project offers people help in the first few days, or even weeks, when they are discharged from hospital and is run by us and staffed by our committed, kind-hearted, Communiteers, who act as good neighbours; generously providing their practical and emotional support. Service offered in SCC postcodes SO14-SO19. Read more
Communicare in Southampton is a friendly, local charity that enriches the quality of life of lonely and isolated people in and around Southampton. Committed volunteers offer practical and emotional support in a variety of ways at no cost to the clients. Services aviailable to areas covered by Southampton City Council SO14-SO19. Read more
The Experts by Experience programme takes individuals with firsthand experience as service users on Care Quality Commission inspections to help compile reports on the standard of care provision, by speaking directly to users of the service and giving users’ opinions a voice Read more
University Hospitals Southampton now have a sunflower lanyard scheme for those with hidden disabilities, visible disabilities and carers. Read more
A really simple guide from Age UK to the hospital discharge process Read more
This page contains useful information for anyone caring for someone who is being treated at University Hospital Southampton. Read more
Help for adults with learning disabilities that need to use hospital services. Southampton General Hospital Learning Disability Number: 023 8120 5367 Autism Nurse Specialist: 023 8120 5367 Read more
This is a document that lists options for providing feedback to your GP or local hospital or other NHS provider Read more
University Hospital Southampton have developed an online form which patients (or their carers) can complete to let them know if they have any accessible information needs when coming in to the hospital. Read more
There is a discharge team that brings together staff from Southampton City Council and University Hospital Southampton to ensure that ongoing care needs are met either at home or in an appropriate care environment. Read more
A document that details needs and preferences simply and clearly Read more
A document that details a patient's needs simply and clearly Read more
This is a booklet to complete for children, young people and adults with learning disabilities or autism coming to Southampton University Hospital NHS Trust Read more
The Lions Message In a Bottle scheme is a simple idea designed to encourage people to keep their personal and medical details on a standard form and in a common location – the fridge. Read more
Want to know your TIA from your AAA? Here is a list of medical terms and their meanings as a reference. Read more