The short answer
- Sort the house before they arriveClear floors, things within reach, a night light on the landing and a plan for the stairs make the first days safer.
- Know the difference between sore and wrongA wound is expected to be red and tender at first. Spreading redness, pus, a temperature or sudden breathlessness are not.
- Food, fluids and gentle movement all help healingA wound needs the body to have something to build with, dehydration slows recovery, and short walks lower the risk of a blood clot.
- A carer can take on the daily tasks, not just the first dayVisits from a carer on PrimeCarers cost £18 to £25 an hour with our fee included, and can taper as your relative recovers.
This page is a practical guide, not medical advice. It says when a task is a carer's job and when it is the GP's, the district nurse's or 999's.
Before the first night home
Setting up the house so the first days go well
Most of this can be done in an afternoon before your relative comes home, and it matters more than it looks like it should. Falls and mix-ups in the first few days at home are usually about the house, not the operation.
Before the first night home
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The bedroom and getting around
The bathroom
Getting up in the night
If your relative already struggles with their balance, reducing the risk of falls at home covers the wider ground beyond the immediate post-operative period, and the right equipment for a home carer to use has more on rails, seats and frames. If none of this has been thought about yet and discharge is close, what to do when the person you care for is leaving hospital covers the wider planning, and do you need someone to take you home after surgery? covers the day itself.
Warning signs to watch for
What is ordinary soreness, and what needs a call
Recovery is not meant to be comfortable. A wound that is red and tender, a leg that is stiff, and a few days of feeling generally below par are all expected. The skill is telling that apart from the smaller number of things that need a phone call, and the rarer few that need 999.
The wound
Ordinary at first
Redness, warmth and a little swelling right at the edges, with some clear or pink fluid, in the first few days.
Ring the GP or 111 today
Redness or swelling spreading outward, pus that is green or yellow, or the wound coming apart.
Call 999
Bleeding heavy enough to soak through a dressing.
Temperature and feeling unwell
Ordinary at first
Feeling tired, achy or a little off colour for the first few days.
Ring the GP or 111 today
A temperature over 38C, or feeling worse instead of better as the days go by.
Call 999
Breathing very fast, confusion or slurred speech, or skin that turns blue, pale or blotchy: the signs of sepsis.
A leg, swelling or pain
Ordinary at first
Some stiffness and mild swelling around the operation site for a few days, especially after hip or knee surgery.
Ring the GP or 111 today
Throbbing pain, swelling, or red or darkened skin in one calf or thigh that was not there before.
Call 999
The same leg symptoms together with sudden breathlessness or chest pain, which can mean a clot has reached the lungs.
Waterworks
Ordinary at first
Passing a little less urine than usual for a day or two while drinking catches up.
Ring the GP or 111 today
Pain or burning when passing urine, or urine that is cloudy or strong smelling: signs of a urine infection, which is more likely when someone has not drunk enough.
Call 999
Any of the above together with confusion, fast breathing or seeming seriously unwell.
NHS guidance on surgical wound infection, sepsis and deep vein thrombosis, nhs.uk, September 2026.
None of this is about being alarmist. A carer visiting every day, rather than a family member popping in once, is often what catches a change early, because they see the wound and the person's colour and mood at the same time each day and notice when something is different. Write down when the operation was and what the discharge letter said to expect, so a phone call to 111 or the GP starts from the same information the ward had.
Eating, drinking and moving
Why food, fluids and gentle movement matter as much as rest
A body that is healing a wound needs more from food and water than usual, not less, and lying still for too long carries its own risk. None of this means pushing someone who is exhausted; it means not mistaking rest for the safest option in every case.
A proper meal, little and often
Fluids, checked rather than assumed
Short, regular walks around the house
Following the surgeon's advice, not a guess
If eating has become the main worry rather than a passing dip, what happens when someone does not eat enough sets out when it becomes serious, and elderly hydration has more on spotting and fixing dehydration early. A carer can prepare food that gets eaten rather than left on the plate, and keep a simple note of what went in and how much fluid was drunk, which is useful information if the GP asks.
Medication and appointments
Keeping medication straight and appointments kept
Medication often changes at discharge: new tablets, stopped tablets, and pain relief on a schedule that is easy to lose track of when someone is tired and sore. Follow-up appointments matter just as much, and they are easy to let slip once the relief of being home sets in.
- 1
Get the new medication list onto one sheet
Day 1What has changed, what has stopped, and what time each tablet is due. A pharmacist can put regular medication into a dosette box or blister pack, which many families find makes the day-to-day tracking far easier. - 2
Confirm the follow-up before you leave the ward
Before dischargeWound checks, stitch or clip removal, and the surgeon's review are usually booked before discharge. Write the dates down rather than relying on a letter that arrives later. - 3
Arrange transport, or ask about a home visit
A few days beforeIf travelling is difficult, ask the GP surgery or the ward whether a nurse can visit at home instead, particularly for a wound check or clip removal. - 4
Write questions down as they come up
OngoingBetween appointments it is easy to forget the thing that was worrying you at 3am. A running list on the fridge or a phone note means nothing gets lost before the next call.
Can carers give or prompt medication? sets out exactly what a carer can and cannot do with tablets, which matters if the routine after an operation is more complicated than the one your relative had before.
Emotional support
Recovery is not only physical, so plan for the mood too
Being in pain, dependent on other people and stuck indoors is hard on anyone's spirits, and it is common for someone to be flatter or more irritable than usual for a few weeks. Most of this settles as they recover, and being there for it is as much a part of care as the practical tasks.
What helps
- Listening to a worry without rushing to fix it or talk them out of it
- Keeping small routines going, a phone call, a radio programme, a cup of tea at the same time each day
- Letting them do what they can manage themselves, even if it is slower
- Noticing if low mood is not lifting after a couple of weeks, and mentioning it to the GP
What tends to make it harder
- Filling every silence with reassurance rather than letting them say what is worrying them
- Taking over tasks they can still do, which can feel like losing independence rather than being helped
- Treating a bad day as a setback in the recovery itself
- Ignoring your own tiredness if you are the one doing most of the caring
If you are the family member carrying most of this and it is wearing you down, that is worth naming rather than pushing through. Respite care is built for exactly that gap, even for a few days, and it does not mean stepping back from caring altogether.
Getting extra help
When to bring in a paid carer, and what the visits cover
Family and friends usually cover the first few days without a second thought. The question is what happens once that goodwill runs thin, work and other commitments start pulling people away, or the recovery simply runs on longer than anyone expected.
| What it covers | What it costs | |
|---|---|---|
| Family and friends | Whatever people can manage around work and their own lives, for as long as goodwill and time allow | Free, but depends on people being available |
| A carer for daily visits | Washing and dressing, meals, medication prompts, light housework and getting to appointments | £18–£25 an hour, with our fee included |
| A live-in or overnight carer | Someone in the house through the night as well, for the riskiest first days or a longer recovery | nights from £130, live-in from £1050 a week |
Family and friends
- What it covers
- Whatever people can manage around work and their own lives, for as long as goodwill and time allow
- What it costs
- Free, but depends on people being available
A carer for daily visits
- What it covers
- Washing and dressing, meals, medication prompts, light housework and getting to appointments
- What it costs
- £18–£25 an hour, with our fee included
A live-in or overnight carer
- What it covers
- Someone in the house through the night as well, for the riskiest first days or a longer recovery
- What it costs
- nights from £130, live-in from £1050 a week
PrimeCarers introduces carers and clients to each other; we do not provide or manage the care ourselves, and every carer sets their own rate. Agencies typically charge more for the same hourly visit.
A carer is not a nurse and does not give clinical advice, but a huge amount of a good recovery is exactly what they do: cooking meals that get eaten, prompting medication on time, noticing a wound that looks different from yesterday, and being there so the person is not managing all of this alone. Every carer on PrimeCarers has had an identity check, a right to work check and an enhanced DBS check on the Update Service, and has been interviewed online before their profile appears; their insurance covers them while they work, separately from those checks. If the first nights are the main worry rather than the weeks that follow, short-term night care after a hospital discharge or surgery covers that specific gap.
Search carers near you to see rates and availability before you need them, and our pricing explains exactly how the hourly rate and our fee work. If cost is the deciding factor, funding care after a hospital stay sets out what help may be available before you pay for it all privately. For the weeks after the daily visits taper off, post-operative rehabilitation and convalescent care covers building strength back up.
Questions
Questions families ask about caring for someone after surgery
It depends on the operation and the anaesthetic, not on how well someone seems to be doing on the day. After sedation or a general anaesthetic, a responsible adult should stay with them for the first 24 hours. Beyond that, it depends on mobility, pain control and how much they can safely do for themselves, and it is worth asking the ward directly rather than guessing.
Redness or swelling that is spreading rather than settling, pus that is green or yellow, the wound coming apart, or a temperature over 38C. A little redness, warmth and clear fluid at the edges in the first few days is normal. If in doubt, ring the GP or 111 rather than waiting to see.
Enough that urine stays pale rather than dark or strong smelling. There is no single number that suits everyone, but dehydration slows wound healing and makes a urine infection more likely, and older people often do not feel thirsty even when they need to drink more.
Yes, for a while. Pain, disrupted sleep and being stuck indoors affect mood for almost everyone recovering from an operation. If low mood is not lifting after a couple of weeks, or your relative seems to be withdrawing rather than gradually improving, mention it to the GP rather than assuming it will pass.
Sometimes both. The discharge team may offer intermediate care or reablement, short-term NHS or council support that is free for up to six weeks in England where it is available, but it is not automatic and it is worth asking for before discharge rather than after. Most families also arrange some private help themselves, particularly for the hours reablement does not cover. What to do when the person you care for is leaving hospital covers the fuller planning.
Carers on PrimeCarers charge £18 to £25 an hour, with our fee included, against £28 to £35 an hour for a similar visit through most agencies. A morning and evening visit in the first week, tapering to a couple a week as recovery continues, is a typical pattern.
Say so to the physio team rather than letting it slide, because exercises skipped in the early weeks are one of the more common reasons a joint replacement disappoints later on. A carer who is there for the session can help someone through the exercises and make a note of what was done, which is useful if progress is reviewed at a later appointment.