The short answer
- Home after one to three days, and sore for a fortnightThe NHS says people who are generally fit go home around 1 to 3 days after the operation. The help is needed once they are through the front door.
- Washing and dressing are the first things to give wayThe new hip should not bend past a right angle, which puts socks, shoes and the lower half of a wash out of reach for several weeks.
- The exercises decide how well the hip ends upThe NHS says following the exercise programme early on helps with long-term strength and movement, and somebody doing them alongside your relative makes that more likely.
- What a fortnight of daily visits costsA morning and an evening visit are charged at £18 to £25 an hour on PrimeCarers with our fee included. Council reablement, where it is offered, is free for up to six weeks.
Clinical timings on this page come from the NHS. Agencies charge £28 to £35 an hour for a similar visit.
The first days home
What the first two or three days at home involve
The hospital has said the surgery went well, so it is easy to expect a quiet week of resting. What families find instead is that the ordinary business of a day, getting to the toilet, making a cup of tea, having a wash, is where the difficulty sits.
Getting into the house
The first nights
New tablets, and old ones stopped
Eating and drinking
Somebody needs to be at home for the first day at least, and for the first two or three nights if you can. If nobody in the family can stay, do you need someone to take you home after surgery? covers what the hospital expects on the day, what to arrange before discharge day covers the equipment and the food, and the hospital discharge and post-operative care guide covers the weeks either side.
Week by week
What each stage of the recovery looks like at home
Recovery runs in stages rather than in a straight line, and the help needed drops off once washing and dressing get easier. These are the stages as a family experiences them, with the clinical timings from the NHS.
- Days 1 to 3
Coming home from the ward
The NHS says that if you are generally fit and the surgery went well, you can usually go home around 1 to 3 days after the operation. A physiotherapist or occupational therapist goes through daily activities and the home exercises before you leave.
- What they can usually do
- Standing and walking a few steps with a frame or crutches, resting for most of the day, and taking pain relief on a timetable rather than when it starts to hurt.
- What is hard on their own
- The steps up to the front door, getting on and off the bed and the toilet, and carrying anything at all while both hands are on a frame.
- What help looks like
- Someone at home for the first two or three nights, the tablets set out and taken on time, a meal made, and the route from bed to bathroom cleared of rugs and wires.
- What to watch for
- Pain that the tablets are not touching, feeling sick and unable to keep fluids down, or a dressing that has come loose.
- Week 1
Sore, tired, and doing the exercises
The hospital sends everyone home with an exercise programme. The NHS says following the exercises early on will help with the long-term strength and movement in the hip.
- What they can usually do
- Short walks indoors several times a day and the exercise sheet two or three times a day. Sleep is usually broken in this first week.
- What is hard on their own
- Washing and dressing below the waist, because the hip cannot bend far enough to reach the feet. Shopping, laundry, changing a bed and anything that needs both arms.
- What help looks like
- A morning visit for washing, dressing and breakfast, an evening visit for a meal and the medication, and somebody to do the exercises alongside them.
- What to watch for
- A wound that is redder, hotter or oozing, a temperature, or cramping pain and swelling in the calf.
- Weeks 2 and 3
Stitches out, and a little further each day
A nurse takes out the stitches or clips after about 10 days, either at the surgery or at home if getting out is not yet possible.
- What they can usually do
- Walking further indoors and a little way outside, usually still with one crutch or a stick, and sitting out of bed for most of the day.
- What is hard on their own
- Standing at a cooker long enough to make a meal, getting to the surgery or the physiotherapy appointment, and the stairs if the bathroom is upstairs.
- What help looks like
- Visits can shorten as washing gets easier. The jobs that carry on are meals, the shopping, the housework and getting to appointments.
- What to watch for
- Eating and drinking less than usual, low mood, or a walk that is getting shorter rather than longer.
- Weeks 4 to 6
Getting back to ordinary days
The NHS says people usually return to work when they feel ready, at about 6 weeks, and to wait at least 6 weeks before driving and to check with the doctor that they are fit to drive.
- What they can usually do
- Walking outdoors most days, managing the stairs, dressing with a helping hand or a grabber, and sleeping better.
- What is hard on their own
- Carrying shopping, getting in and out of a car, the heavier housework, and bending for anything low down.
- What help looks like
- Two or three visits a week rather than every day, kept for the shopping, the cleaning and a walk with company.
- What to watch for
- A hip that is stiffer at week four than it was at week two, or any fall, even one that seemed to do no harm.
- Week 6 to 12, then months
The follow-up, and the rest of the recovery
A follow-up appointment comes around 6 to 12 weeks after the surgery to check how recovery is going. The NHS says it may take several months to recover from a hip replacement.
- What they can usually do
- Longer walks, a return to hobbies and to driving once the doctor agrees, and the exercises continuing because strength is still building.
- What is hard on their own
- Confidence outdoors after a long spell indoors, and picking up where they left off if they were already unsteady before the operation.
- What help looks like
- One visit a week for the shopping and the heavy cleaning, or nothing at all. This is the point at which help is usually stopped or cut right back.
- What to watch for
- Sudden severe pain in the new hip, or a leg that will not take weight, both of which need the hospital or 111 the same day.
Timings from the NHS pages on recovering from a hip replacement and on its complications. Every recovery runs at its own pace, and the surgeon's or physiotherapist's instructions come first where they differ from the general picture here.
The timings above come from the NHS guidance on recovering from a hip replacement, and nobody moves through them at the same speed. Somebody already unsteady, living alone, or recovering from a broken hip rather than a planned operation will need help for longer. If your relative was struggling before the operation, the question worth asking is whether the help you put in for six weeks should carry on afterwards, and post-operative rehabilitation and convalescent care covers what a longer recovery involves.
What the hip cannot do yet
The movements to avoid, and the jobs they make impossible
The hospital gives a short list of movements to avoid while the new joint settles. It sounds minor read out on a ward, and it is the reason an independent person cannot get their own socks on.
What helps in the first weeks
- A chair high enough to get out of without the hip bending past a right angle, with arms to push up from
- A raised toilet seat, a grabber and a long-handled shoehorn, ready before the operation rather than after it
- Everything used daily moved to waist height, so nothing needs reaching down for
- The exercises done at the times the physiotherapist set, with somebody there to count them
- Short walks several times a day rather than one long one
What the NHS says not to do
- Sitting with the legs crossed
- Bending the hip more than 90 degrees, which is a right angle
- Bending down to touch the feet or ankles, which rules out socks, shoes, toenails and the lower half of a wash
- Driving until at least 6 weeks have passed and the doctor has said they are fit to drive
- Twisting on the operated leg to reach something behind them
Washing and dressing below the waist, emptying a washing machine, making a bed and picking anything up off the floor all need a bend that is not allowed yet, which is what turns an independent person into somebody needing help twice a day. Bathing and toileting an elderly parent covers doing that yourself, and the right equipment to aid the elderly covers the aids that help.
Where a council assesses that equipment or a minor adaptation is needed, it is free. Regulation 4 of the Care and Support (Preventing Needs for Care and Support) Regulations 2014 stops a council charging for community equipment, and counts an adaptation as minor if it costs £1,000 or less. Ask the hospital occupational therapist what has been ordered and when it arrives, because a raised toilet seat that comes in week three has missed the weeks it was for.
How much help, and the cost
Who covers the first six weeks, and what each option costs
Help comes from several places at once, and none of them covers the whole thing. Knowing which part each one does makes it easier to see what is left for the family to fill.
| What it covers | When and how long | What it costs | |
|---|---|---|---|
| NHS community therapy | Physiotherapy, the wound, the stitches or clips, and any clinical need at home | As long as the clinical need lasts | Free at the point of use |
| Council reablement or intermediate care | Short-term help with washing, dressing and moving about again, aimed at getting them back to managing alone | Where it is offered after a hospital stay | Free for up to 6 weeks, by regulation |
| Family and friends | Usually the nights, the meals and the lifts to appointments | Whatever people can sustain alongside their own jobs | No money, at a cost to whoever is doing it |
| Hourly visits from a carer | Washing, dressing, meals, medication prompting, the exercises, shopping and housework | Booked as you need them, and heaviest in the first fortnight | £18 to £25 an hour on PrimeCarers, our fee included |
| A carer overnight | Somebody there for the toilet trips and the pain relief | Often just the first few nights home | Sleeping nights from £130, waking nights from £150 |
| A live-in carer for a few weeks | Day and night cover in one arrangement, for somebody living alone or recovering slowly | Booked by the week | From £1,050 a week, typically £1,120 |
NHS community therapy
- What it covers
- Physiotherapy, the wound, the stitches or clips, and any clinical need at home
- When and how long
- As long as the clinical need lasts
- What it costs
- Free at the point of use
Council reablement or intermediate care
- What it covers
- Short-term help with washing, dressing and moving about again, aimed at getting them back to managing alone
- When and how long
- Where it is offered after a hospital stay
- What it costs
- Free for up to 6 weeks, by regulation
Family and friends
- What it covers
- Usually the nights, the meals and the lifts to appointments
- When and how long
- Whatever people can sustain alongside their own jobs
- What it costs
- No money, at a cost to whoever is doing it
Hourly visits from a carer
- What it covers
- Washing, dressing, meals, medication prompting, the exercises, shopping and housework
- When and how long
- Booked as you need them, and heaviest in the first fortnight
- What it costs
- £18 to £25 an hour on PrimeCarers, our fee included
A carer overnight
- What it covers
- Somebody there for the toilet trips and the pain relief
- When and how long
- Often just the first few nights home
- What it costs
- Sleeping nights from £130, waking nights from £150
A live-in carer for a few weeks
- What it covers
- Day and night cover in one arrangement, for somebody living alone or recovering slowly
- When and how long
- Booked by the week
- What it costs
- From £1,050 a week, typically £1,120
Reablement is free for the first six weeks under regulation 4 of the Care and Support (Preventing Needs for Care and Support) Regulations 2014, where a council provides it. PrimeCarers introduces carers and clients to each other and does not provide or manage care, so hours and rates are agreed between you and the carer, who is self-employed.
A fortnight of two one-hour visits a day comes to £560 at the typical rate of £20 an hour, and the visits can drop back to a few a week once washing and dressing get easier. The same fortnight through an agency, at £28 to £35 an hour, costs £784 to £980, often with a different carer each day. The hourly cost of care at home sets the two side by side, and what a carer can do in one hour shows how much fits into a visit. Reablement is worth asking about while your relative is still on the ward, because it is not offered everywhere: reablement, the free six weeks explains what happens when it ends, and local authority funding for care at home explains how the council decides who pays.
What to watch for
The signs that need a phone call, and who to ring
Most hip replacements heal without trouble, and the things that do go wrong tend to show themselves in the first few weeks. The NHS is clear about which ones should not be left to see how they go.
What to do about each sign
0 of 8 ticked
Ring 999 or go to A&E
Ring the GP or 111 the same day
Ring the ward, the surgeon's team or 111
The first two groups come from the NHS list of complications of a hip replacement. A carer visiting twice a day often sees them first, because they see the wound, the walking and the appetite every day while the family sees them at weekends. A carer does not give clinical advice or stand in for the district nurse, but they can notice a change and tell you the same morning. Avoiding readmission covers why people go back into hospital, and reducing the risk of falls at home is worth reading if your relative was unsteady beforehand.
Arranging help
How to put the help in place before the operation
A planned hip replacement gives you time to arrange things beforehand, which an emergency admission does not. Four steps in the weeks before the date cover most of it.
- 1
Write down the week they come home
Before the operationGo through a normal day and mark what your relative will not manage while the hip cannot bend: getting out of bed, washing, dressing, cooking, shopping, laundry, the stairs. That list is what you are buying help for. - 2
Ask the hospital what is already arranged
At the pre-operative appointmentAsk which equipment the occupational therapist is ordering and when it arrives, whether reablement applies, who takes the stitches out, and what the physiotherapy plan is. Write the answers down with names and numbers. - 3
Look at carers near their home
Two to three weeks beforeSearch by postcode and compare profiles, rates, reviews and availability. 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. References sit on the profile, and experience after joint surgery is worth asking about. - 4
Agree the first fortnight, then review it
Before the dateBook what you are sure of, usually a morning and an evening visit, and say the dates may move if the operation does. Add or drop visits once the carer has seen how the first days go, since hours are agreed with them directly.
If your relative lives alone and the nights are the part you cannot cover, short-term night care after a hospital discharge explains what sleeping and waking nights involve. What care costs where you live gives local figures, our pricing explains the hourly rate and our fee, and you can search carers near their home and compare rates and reviews before the date is confirmed.
Questions
Questions families ask about recovering from a hip replacement at home
Plan for daily help for the first two weeks and less after that. The NHS says people usually go home around 1 to 3 days after the operation, return to work at about 6 weeks, and that it may take several months to recover. The heaviest need is at the start, when the hip cannot bend far enough for washing, dressing or picking things up.
Not for the first day, and it is better not to be alone for the first two or three nights. Pain relief wears off overnight, and getting to the toilet in the dark on a new hip is when falls happen. After the first week it depends on how steady your relative is, whether there are stairs, and whether they can reach food and drink without bending.
Washing and dressing the parts your relative cannot reach, meals and drinks, prompting medication, doing the physiotherapy exercises alongside them, shopping, laundry, changing the bed, and going with them to appointments. A carer does not give clinical advice, dress a surgical wound or take over from the physiotherapist. Carers on PrimeCarers charge £18 to £25 an hour with our fee included, typically about £20.
The NHS says not to sit with the legs crossed, not to bend the hip more than 90 degrees, which is a right angle, and not to bend down to touch the feet or ankles. That is why socks, shoes, toenails and the lower half of a wash need somebody else for several weeks. Your relative will also be told to wait at least 6 weeks before driving and to check with the doctor that they are fit to drive. Where the hospital adds its own instructions, those come first.
Some of it. NHS community services such as physiotherapy and the wound care are free. Where a council provides reablement or intermediate care after a hospital stay, it cannot charge for the first six weeks under regulation 4 of the Care and Support (Preventing Needs for Care and Support) Regulations 2014, and equipment or a minor adaptation costing £1,000 or less is free too. Reablement is not offered everywhere, so ask the ward what has been arranged. Anything you arrange yourselves, you pay for.
The NHS says a nurse takes out the stitches or clips after about 10 days. That is usually a practice nurse at the GP surgery, or a district nurse at home if getting out is not yet possible. Ask the ward before discharge who has been asked to do it and where, because your relative will need a lift to the surgery if that is where it happens.
The physiotherapist usually practises stairs with your relative before they leave hospital and says whether they are safe to use them at home. If they are not, a bed downstairs for the first weeks is easier than climbing three times a day, and that is worth deciding before the operation rather than on the evening they come home.