The other person in the room
Carers do the fetching, the note-taking and the four-hour waits, and are usually the last to be given anything. This is what makes the job less exhausting — and what makes the person you are caring for easier to help.
There’s a guide for this
Caring for someone at home: practical ways to make life easier
Caring for someone at home is a strange job because nobody really hands you the job description.
Caring for someone after hospital9 recommendations
Prices are a guide. Check the retailer for the current price and delivery options.
A straw lid for sipping one-handed, without tipping a bottle up.
See our recommendation
Polar Gear Flip-Straw Insulated Bottle, 800 ml, Wine
£10–£25Guide price
Available from Amazon · Ad
Jug water goes warm in an hour and needs both hands and a sitting position. A straw lid makes drinking possible with one arm cannulated and the bed barely tilted, which is the difference between sipping all afternoon and giving up.
A supportive nest for sleeping and resting when several parts of you hurt at once.
See the example
Momcozy U-Shaped Full-Body Support Pillow
£25–£50Guide price
Available from Amazon · Ad
After surgery, getting comfortable can mean supporting several sore areas at once. A U-shaped pillow can prop the back, hips, knees and legs without building a precarious nest of separate pillows, and the removable washable cover is useful during recovery.
For the evening when the hot trolley has been and gone and nothing on it was edible.
Meals are served early, missed for scans, and occasionally impossible to face. Credit on a delivery app hands the choice back. Worth knowing first: orders generally have to be collected from the hospital entrance, so the person needs to be well enough to walk down — or a visitor or friend can meet the driver. Delivery to the bed space is never guaranteed.
For when sipping water isn't enough and the mouth still feels like paper.
Plenty of medications, oxygen and long nil-by-mouth stretches leave a mouth uncomfortably dry, and there are hours when you cannot simply keep drinking. A gel or spray in the locker is something a person can reach for themselves at 3am.
For dry, uncomfortable lips, without a strong scent under your nose.
See our recommendation
O'Keeffe's Lip Repair Unscented, Pack of 3
£10–£25Guide price
Available from Amazon · Ad
Nil-by-mouth waits, dehydration and the bone-dry air on wards can leave lips cracked within a day. An unscented balm is easy to keep by the bed and use without adding another strong smell when you already feel queasy.
Hospital air is bone dry. Fragrance-free, because smells turn on you.
Everyday pick
Neutrogena Norwegian Formula Fragrance-Free Lotion, 400 ml
Under £10Guide price
Available from Amazon · Ad
Air conditioning, repeated hand washing and many drugs leave skin cracked. Scented lotions can trigger nausea during treatment and irritate skin around dressings, so fragrance-free is usually the best bet.
Something warm for the evening the trolley has been and gone.
Patient recommendation
Meritene Energis Chicken, 50 g Sachets
£10–£25Guide price
Available from Amazon · Ad
Meals arrive early and get missed for scans, and there are days when a hot drink is about all anyone fancies. A sachet of soup in the locker needs only the water from the drinks round, and is a comfort at the point when the ward has gone quiet.
Why we chose it
We’ve tried the menu soups and the emergency ward ones. This one tastes genuinely lovely made with water, is smooth with no lumps, and feels properly comforting.
For skin that’s getting sore from rubbing, wiping or washing more than usual.
Everyday pick
Vaseline Petroleum Jelly, 368 g
Under £10Guide price
Available from Amazon · Ad
Antibiotics, treatments and hospital food can all upset your stomach, and repeated diarrhoea can leave the skin around your bottom painfully sore very quickly. A simple barrier cream protects the area and makes washing less uncomfortable. Tell the nursing team if the skin is broken, bleeding or becoming more painful.
A cardigan or zip-up layer for chilly wards — easier to manage around drip lines than a pullover.
Everyday women's
M&S Alpaca Blend Crew-Neck Cardigan
£50–£100Guide price
Available from M&S · Ad
Chemo chairs and day units run cold, and drips make you colder still. A zip or button front can be draped over a cannulated arm rather than threaded onto it — a pullover simply can't be worn.
