Keep It Together Care

How to use this guide

Hospital & Emergency Handover Pack

This pack helps you get ready before an emergency or hospital stay: a grab sheet and handover with the essentials, a record of what happens on the ward, the medicines in hospital, and the questions to ask before leaving. It doesn't replace 999, NHS 111 or the advice of the team caring for you.

Get the free guide

On a phone, tablet or computer

Fill it in by typing

  1. Download the PDF from your email or from the download page.
  2. Open it in a PDF app that supports forms, such as Adobe Acrobat Reader (free on computers, phones and tablets).
  3. Tap a box and type. Tick boxes tick with one tap.
  4. Save the file. Your answers stay in your copy; nothing is sent to Keep It Together Care.

On paper

Print it and write by hand

  1. Print it on A4. The rows and boxes are sized for handwriting.
  2. Copy names, dates and numbers exactly as they appear on letters, labels and reports.
  3. Keep it somewhere easy to reach, and take the pages you need to appointments.

Video walkthrough

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A short video showing how to fill in this guide is on its way.

Common questions

What should I fill in first?
The emergency grab sheet and the hospital handover, while things are calm. Keep a printed copy somewhere easy to grab.
What do I do in an emergency?
Call 999 in a life-threatening emergency. The pack is for the practical information, not for deciding how urgent something is.
What helps when leaving hospital?
"Leaving hospital" lists questions to ask before discharge, and "After discharge" keeps track of what was promised and who is arranging it.
I typed into it, but my answers had gone when I opened it again. Why?
Some previews, such as a browser tab or an email preview, can't save answers in a form. Download the PDF first, open it in a PDF app that supports forms, such as Adobe Acrobat Reader, then save.
Is anything I write sent anywhere?
No. The PDF doesn't send your answers to Keep It Together Care or to anyone else. They stay in the file on your device, or on your paper copy.

What’s inside

  • In an emergency
  • Emergency grab sheet
  • Hospital / admission handover
  • In hospital now
  • Conversations on the ward
  • Medicines and hospital
  • Leaving hospital
  • After discharge
  • Sources and support

Practical organisation, not medical advice. Your own care team’s advice always comes first. See all free help