From slippers to water bottles: reuniting lost property at Redcliffe Hospital

If you’ve ever accidentally left something behind when leaving hospital, you’re not alone.

Each day, thousands of people come and go from Redcliffe Hospital. When they accidentally leave their belongings behind, staff and volunteers do what they can to help reunite them with their property.

Stacey McColm from the Facility Services team says reuniting patients with their lost property is often a simple and easy process.

“If you’ve left something behind as a patient in a ward, the best thing to do is to call the ward through the hospital switchboard. If you’re not sure where you lost the item, the volunteer information counter on the ground floor is a good place to start,” Stacey said.

“Among the items most often handed in to the volunteer information counter are personal items like glasses and keys through to more valuable items like mobile phones and watches.

“Items like clothing, shoes and toys are generally kept at the hospital’s volunteer information desk, while items of value are securely stored in a safe.”

Hospital volunteer Pamela Ladd is one of the volunteers looking after the lost property box at the hospital’s information desk.

Pam said, at the moment, the most common item finding its way into the lost property box was metal water bottles.

“It’s understandable, they’re easy to leave behind. People often sit down at the chairs at the front of the hospital and leave without them,” she said.

“People leave things in other places too – like on the shuttle buggy from the car park.”

Pam said it wasn’t unusual for people to come by days or even weeks later to pick up lost belongings, often when they were back at the hospital for their next outpatient appointment.

She said items are kept in the box for three months, giving owners plenty of time to collect them.

Acting Nurse Unit Manager Nikki Hills says that patients in her ward accidently left items behind when they’re discharged at least once or twice a week.

“Phone chargers are the main thing,” Nikki said.

“But it can be things like slippers and dressing gowns too. They usually notice fairly quickly that they’ve left something behind.

“When they realise they’ve left something behind, they just need to call us and we’ll keep it at the nurses station for them to collect, when they can.”

If you’ve lost or found something at Redcliffe Hospital, call 07 3883 7777.