NHS "dont bring any valuables with you"

[JenniferBooth]

A friend of mine may be having a cataract op soon. His first appointment letter came with a booklet telling him what to expect and on one of the pages in bold it said "dont bring any valuables with you" Obviously things like a watch or jewellery wouldnt be necessary to bring with you. But he will need to bring his flat keys, phone and wallet with him. So he can book and pay for a taxi afterwards (he is expected to be able to go home the same day) So will they have somewhere for these to be safely stored?

For cataract operations they are in and out within the hour, whoever drives the patient waits in the waiting room.

Just been through it with dp, he went to hand me his wallet, phone and watch and they said he could keep them in his pocket

When I had my cataract surgeries I was in a chair in a waiting room/ treatment room then taken through to the operating theatre. I was given a plastic bag with my name on, everything went in it, my jacket, small handbag, keys and phone. It was placed behind the nurses station and returned when I came back from theatre.
I’m surprised he’s allowed home in a taxi, I needed my DH to pick me up as the operated eye was covered with a shield and my vision from the other was practically nil until I had that one fixed.

My first op took 30 minutes (I have Glaucoma) but the pre op preps took longer. I was there for over two hours. The second op took almost an hour, Covid had delayed it by several months, the cataract had thickened considerably by then which increased the pressure in my eye hence the surgeon being extra careful. Challenging was the word he used. It’s bloody marvellous now, got my long vision back and just need low power reading glasses now.

When I was nursing we had the telephone stolen from the nurses station. This was in the early days before plug ins so the thief had to cut the wires to remove it!

When I had a day case surgery I was told to put my phone, keys and wallet in the safe they provided. When I was giving my belongings back my phone was gone as was all the cash in my wallet, including the loose change. Very sad that it happens anywhere.

@Simonjt what did they do about it?

Nothing, they aren’t exactly going to tell you which member of staff has stolen your cash and belongings.

My stuff was just left in a bag by my bed, when I had a broken arm set last year. I never really thought more about it, but it sounds like I should have! There wasn't really any choice, though. I needed my keys and purse to get to the hospital, and my phone to let someone know when I was finished and ready to be collected. I live alone and travelled there alone. There was a 'waiting' sort of ward with about 10 people on it, and my bag was just at my bedside there, with my clothes etc. I guess it would have looked a bit odd for someone to go through my things, but maybe not. I have another one coming up and I expect it'll be the same process, but not much I can do about it really. I had to wear a gown in theatre so no chance of keys and phone in my pockets.

Where my friend works they don't have lockers in the staff room so are expected to leave their bags and belongings out- she only takes stuff she needs for her shift but she'd had stuff nicked before. The only people with access are other staff, lots of her colleagues too but nothing was done. If some staff are stealing from other staff then no hope for patients. I'd always recommend people take stuff in a labelled bag too as stuff gets lost (somehow) quite a bit, and if you take stuff in for a relative list the stuff that needs to come home afterwards.

Usually, yes. They have lockers for your stuff, or put it in a bag/tray that comes with you.

They mean “don’t bring your great aunt Jemima’s irreplaceable Faberge egg, then blame us when you lose it”.

I have known people claim to have lost thousands of pounds in cash, in a note roll in their pocket, which they allegedly left in their bedside cupboard while off the ward for hours having treatment elsewhere in the hospital. It is possible somebody nicked it. It is possible it never existed. We can’t take responsibility either way.

As a funeral arranger one of the questions we ask during the arrangement - if the loved ones is to be collected from a hospital - is whether the deceased has any valuables/jewellery on them. The amount of times I'm told they did have a ring or other jewellery, but it went missing, is really sad. That someone could steal jewellery from a dying or dead person is vile.

If it's a day surgery, i got a locker with safety pin key to attach to my hospital gown... I took a book and had DH Telephone number written down for them to call when I was ready to go home.

Don't take anything of value at all.... When I had my dc i have even had my shoes nicked while I had the c section.

My aunt had all of her jewelry stolen, while on a ward it's just not worth it.

Or we can look at the same paramedics who don’t steal but look after people in their dying moments so they have someone to talk to and pass on final messages to loved ones, who make sure someone is alerted to the pets left behind and make sure those who have died have as much dignity as is possible left - despite the fact they’ve been working more than 12 hours, won’t get home for hours longer, have missed their child’s sports day or similar and then get assaulted or threatened by someone wanting to steal the drugs in the car.

I'd say more likely lost

I was in a&e the other day and saw 2/3 people come in asking for lost property for family members who had lost phones when moving wards, 2 of them were found and given back

It's to stop people bringing unnecessary valuables. Obviously you'd need to bring your phone and house key and means of getting home (bank card or cash for a taxi). It doesn't mean you're forced to come with absolutely nothing. It says don't bring valuables, not don't bring necessitates.

It doesn’t cancel it out, it’s not ok to be scum part time and a paramedic full time 😂

Every hospital does it differently, I had a detached retina so needed a more extensive eye surgery but still a day case.

I stuck around long enough for a cup of coffee and a biscuit afterwards then made my own way home in a taxi. No one asked how I was getting home and I had to stay in a prone position so walking along the corridor to the taxi point bent at a 90 degree angle at the waist so my nose was parallel to the floor, with a plastic shield over my eye. Looked like a right idiot 😂

Same when I worked for the NHS, stuff went missing and only other staff had access to those areas. Whole packed lunches, money and someone's trainers!

DMIL was in hospital a few years ago and when she was discharged DH was given a bag of soiled clothes for him (read me!) to wash. (actually I talked him through how the washing machine worked because although it's my job I wasn't washing any non child's soiled clothes!) They were in a bag you can apparently wash them in 🤷🏾‍♀️ Anyway. When they were washed it turned out they definitely weren't DMILS (think size 8 Vs 18) and they had a full set of keys in the pocket! God knows how that person got back into their house. DH dropped them back to the hospital and they were a bit sheepish as to how it happened.

Wards have a lockable cupboard generally, but my late husband, who was a relatively frequent in-patient, had his card details stolen 3 times, and each time used for a mobile top-up of £50, so not noticed until the statement came, long after he’d been discharged. The card was never taken - just the details :(

Those of you who have had this done. What was the waiting time between the first appointment and the operation?

Mine was about 4 weeks from first consultation to op. Then another 6 weeks till I had the other eye done, but that depends on the outcome of the first one. There was a lady at my second op who only had two weeks between her operations.

I had my purse stolen at work from a GP consultation room when I went out at lunchtime to do a home visit. It was upstairs and so the perpetrator had to walk right past the reception bold as brass and must've just loitered until they found an unlocked room. I didn't forget to lock it, I genuinely thought I didn't need to, staff would frequently walk around the building leaving phones etc on desks. Changed my ways now for sure!
When I worked in hospitals it was completely normal for bags to be chucked under the nearest desk as the only lockers were for regular ward staff not doctors rotating every 4-6 months.
I remember one patient had her handbag stolen from a bed right behind the nurse's station and wondering how the visitor had done it. It wasn't until some weeks later it clicked for me that it must've been staff.

When I had mine done I took a small bag with keys money etc plus a book. Then I took it into the ‘theatre’ area and it was left on the side