What to bring with you into hospital

You may wish to use this checklist as a guide:

• Medication
• Clothes and underwear
• Night clothes (front opening/buttoning)
• Dressing gown
• Slippers
• Hairbrush or comb and shampoo
• Liquid soap (not a bar)
• Toothbrush, toothpaste and denture cleaner
• Paper tissues
• Glasses and/or contact lenses
• Shaving equipment (any electrical equipment may need to be tested by hospital staff before use)
• Walking stick (if you normally use one)
• Hearing aid and batteries
• Mobile phone and charger
• Things to keep you entertained, e.g. ipad or tablet, book and/or magazines

Medicines

Please bring your regular medicines with you into hospital. These should include all those prescribed by your general practitioner, including:

• Eye drops
• Inhalers
• Patches
• Creams
• Injections
• Any medicines that you take regularly but purchase from your local pharmacy, including any herbal or homeopathic preparations.

The medicines should be in their original packaging and it is advisable to bring in at least a week's supply.

These must be shown to your nurse or doctor when you arrive. Your nurse will arrange for them to be stored securely on the ward during your stay.

If you have an anticoagulant record book, methotrexate or lithium monitoring booklet, please bring this with you.

Please do not bring the following into hospital:

• Alcohol
• Knives
• Towels
• Flannels/face-cloths

Personal property

A bedside locker is available for your personal belongings. However, storage space is limited so please only bring the items you will need during your stay.

Valuables

Please do not bring in a lot of money or valuables - just a small amount of change that you will need for newspapers, drinks etc.

We regret that the hospital cannot be held responsible for any money or valuables which are not handed over for safe-keeping. 

A new ‘Simple steps to keep you safe and well during your hospital stay’ video and leaflet has been launched by the NHS to provide tips for patients on keeping safe during a hospital stay.

Patient safety incidents are rare and keeping patients safe and well is a priority for hospital staff. However, there are some simple things patients can also do to help keep themselves safe during a hospital stay, such as asking for help when needed, protecting themselves from slips and falls and helping to prevent blood clots.

Video

‘Simple steps to keep you safe during your hospital stay’ - video

British Sign Language (BSL) version 

Leaflet 

'Simple steps to keep you safe during your hospital stay' - leaflet - NHS England website

• Reducing the risk of hospital-associated blood clots - a patients' guide