Lost patient belongings

[NurseyPoo7]

Looking for ideas to decrease the amount of lost patient belongings while in the hospital.

Does your facility require them to sign something saying the facility isn't responsible for lost belongings? Do you have some type of checklist or whatnot when the patient arrives about what belongings they have with them? If so, I was wondering if someone could share what the paper looked like.

Thanks

[Nurse Kyles, BSN, RN]

We do have a checklist that is part of the admission set on the computer. It has check boxed for really common things like cell phone, upper dentures, lower dentures, full set, bilateral hearing aid, cane, wallet etc. There is a section that says what you did with the items. Options listed are kept at bedside, sent home with family, in closet etc. There is a section for meds. Did patient bring meds? You can check sent home with family or sent to pharmacy. We then have those security bags that have a tear off portion that has the corresponding number. We put those in the front of the chart. Also any valuables can be placed in those bags and sent to security. The tear off portion is then also placed in the chart for when the patient is discharged. There is a free fill text portion where we can type exactly what was brought with patient. We don't have many lost items.

[amoLucia]

Check with your risk Management Dept. This is usually within their scope. And they prob already have a form - why reinvent the wheel?

I'd guess that Briggs catalogue has something.

[Okami_CCRN, BSN, RN]

Where I work we have a carbon copy form that is a belongings inventory sheet. Has common items such as phones, charges, wallet, clothes, etc. The patients signs the bottom which states that the hospital is not responsible for damage or loss of belongings. Then there is a spot for the witness to sign and the patient gets a copy and the original stays in the chart.