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Looking after your property during your hospital stay

Information for patients and relatives

This page provides advice on what you should bring with you when you are coming to hospital and what measures the Trust takes to safeguard your belongings. If you follow this advice you can expect a safe and secure environment for yourself and your belongings while you are with us.

**Please be aware that the Trust cannot accept liability for any property that is not handed in for safekeeping.**

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We advise you to keep to a minimum the amount of property you bring with you 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 would be placed in cashiers and returned to you on discharge from hospital.

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 or taken in to safekeeping, a receipt will be given to you or your family or carer.

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 non-aerosol ball deodorant and pespirant creams only, no aerosol/spray ons allowed.
  • 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/eye mask 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 sent 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 as an emergency, or at very short notice, and a relative, friend or carer is with you, please ask them to take any unnecessary 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. This will include the transfer of your property items to a ward if you are admitted to the hospital as part of your ongoing treatment plan. 

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.

If you have property such as a phone, spectacles, 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.

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.
 

  • 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 for safekeeping

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.

You can also download a copy of our 'Looking after your property during your hospital stay'