What to bring
When coming into hospital, please bring the following items:
- personal toiletries including toothbrush, toothpaste, soap and shaving kit
- towel
- nightdress or pyjamas
- paper hankies
- brush and/or comb
- dressing gown and slippers
- any medicines you may be taking
- diet sheet and any other information that may help the staff planning your care
Please do not bring food that needs to be kept in a fridge.
TV, radio and phones
Patients will have access to a combined television and telephone unit at each bed. Patients will be able to receive telephone calls directly to their bedside, as each patient will be given their own telephone number. If you move to another bed, your number will change.
The unit will also have a TV screen with access to a number of channels. This also provides access to the radio channels. A card can be purchased from a card machine or a member of Patient Line staff.
There are coin-operated trolley phones within the wards, but these should not be used to receive incoming calls. There are also pay phones in the main foyer and in each of the main buildings.
Money and valuables
We do not accept liability for patients’ personal property or money brought onto Trust sites unless it is handed in for safe storage and a written note of confirmation is provided by us. A patient property record will be completed by a member of hospital staff in the presence of a second member of staff and/or a patient or their personal representative (where possible).
Money or valuables handed over for safe storage will be sent to the cash office except when no office staff are present. In those circumstances, the money or valuables will be placed in a secure place and sent to the cash office as soon as possible.
Clothing and laundry
As a patient, you have a bedside locker for personal belongings. Your family or friends should take home any clothing you do not need or that needs cleaned. Please bring a small bag into hospital for this purpose. We do not usually clean personal clothing and do not accept responsibility in the event of loss or damage to personal clothing.
Helping our cleaners
To prevent the spread of infection, it is vital that wards and departments are cleaned to a very high standard. If surfaces around your bed are cluttered, it is difficult to clean them. Please keep locker tops, table tops and floor surfaces between beds free of clutter.
We recommend that you keep personal items to a minimum during your stay in hospital. Where possible, please store personal belongings in your bedside locker.
Medicine and drugs
Your doctor may wish to prescribe new medicines or treatment for you. Before doing so, they will need to know what other medicines you are already taking. This includes homeopathic, herbal or dietary medicines. It is very important that you tell the doctor about all your medicines and bring them with you. This provides a more accurate medication history and avoids confusion during your stay and on discharge.
After your stay in hospital, a discharge letter will be sent to your GP. This will include information about your medication at the time of discharge.
Any medication you bring into hospital with you will be returned to you when you are discharged. If treatment is stopped, we will seek your permission to dispose of the medication.
Travel expenses
A Hospital Travel Costs Scheme is available to help people who are entitled to reclaim travel costs to and from hospital for NHS treatment.
You may be eligible to reclaim travel expenses if you receive benefits or credits or are on a low income.