We advise you to keep the amount of property you bring with you to a minimum and we encourage you to hand over for safekeeping any valuables or money that you cannot leave at home. If you decide to keep personal items of property with you this will be at your own risk.  We suggest that you put your name on personal items such as the carrying case for spectacles and hearing aids.

Please remember:

• items such as laptops and mobile phones are likely to be targets for thieves unless handed in for safe keeping.  These items can be put into the safe in the Cashiers Office for safekeeping and returned on discharge from hospital. 
• if you have property such as a phone, spectacles including reading glasses, handbag, please take them with you when you leave your bedside.
• if you are taken off the ward for an investigation or operation, please ensure that you hand over your valuables to the nurses in charge of your care.

If at any time you are not able to make decisions about your property and valuables, the Trust will look after your property until such time as it can be returned. When property is handed in or taken into safekeeping, a receipt will be given to you, your family, or your carer. 

We make every effort to ensure you are safe and secure. We have security staff within the hospital who regularly patrol the hospital and the grounds. The hospital also has CCTV cameras, and we work closely with the local police to support an anti-crime culture.

If you are booked to come into hospital for an operation / procedure and / or treatment, it is a good idea to plan ahead and decide on what to bring with you. 

Suggested items to bring:

• nightwear
• dressing gown
• a change of clothes 
• well-fitting slippers or shoes
• toiletries for example, hairbrush, comb, shampoo, toothbrush toothpaste or denture cleaner, soap and flannel, towels (hand and bath) paper tissues and deodorant.
• reading glasses (spectacles) and hearing aids
• flavoured drink such as squash
• reading materials (and your glasses if needed)
• small amounts of money for personal use
• any medicines or inhalers that you take
• ear plugs and eye masks if you are easily disturbed
• in maternity: nappies and clothes for your baby. Staff will have an additional list for you.
• for children, a comforter a teddy or blanket for example

Every bedside has a small personal locker which can only hold essential items. The locker is not secure so please do not use it to store valuables such as your phone or large amounts of money. Items you will not need during your stay should be left at home.

Please speak to your nurse who can arrange for valuables, or larger items, to be securely locked away in the cashier's office.

We recommend that your personal property is locked away or kept in sight at all times.

If you are admitted to hospital in an emergency, or at very short notice, and a relative, friend or carer is with you, please ask them to take any unnecessary personal items home.

If the circumstances of your admission mean that you are not able to look after your property, or make decisions for yourself, the staff on the ward / department will keep your property safe for you.

When property is handed in for safekeeping and is returned you will be asked to check and sign the property record confirming that you have received all items. Please note that any large amounts of cash stored for safekeeping will be returned in cash or through a Bankers Automated Clearing Service (BACS) transfer directly to your bank account.

• keep as little property as possible with you
• avoid bringing in items of value
• ask friends or family to take home items you do not need
• valuables and large amounts of money should be returned home or handed over to the nurse in charge of your care for safekeeping

If additional items are brought in for loved ones during their stay and they are of value, please let a member of staff know. 

Warrington and Halton Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust will not accept liability for the loss or damage to a patient's property unless it has been handed in for safekeeping.
 

For more information, or any queries about the safekeeping of your property, please speak to the Nurse in Charge of your ward / department.