Publish date: 30 September 2026
Patients coming into hospital are being urged to bring their regular prescribed medicines with them to help reduce delays, improve care and cut waste.
Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has launched a new campaign – ‘Bring your medicines with you’ – as part of a drive to support safety and make hospital stays more efficient.
The scheme will help to:
• reduce delays and get patients home sooner when they’re ready to leave hospital;
• keep patients on track with their treatment;
• support sustainability by avoiding unnecessary duplication.
Patients who are coming to stay in hospital should try to bring all of the medicines and healthcare products they currently use, preferably in their original, labelled packaging.
They can also bring up-to-date medication lists, repeat prescription slips, monitoring booklets or medication records, if available.
A full list of the items patients should try to bring is available at https://
Mid Cheshire Hospitals' teams understand that some hospital admissions are emergencies or unexpected, and in those circumstances staff would encourage the patient’s family, friends or carers to bring the medicines into hospital when they can.
All of the medication will be checked by pharmacy staff to make sure it is suitable, correctly labelled and in date.
If patients are unable to bring medicines in for their hospital stay, there are still ways for staff to create a medication history or check their record – but the Trust is encouraging people to support the campaign wherever possible.
Richard Clansey, Medicines Value Pharmacist for Cheshire, said: “Bringing regular medicines into hospital may seem like a small step, but it can make a real difference to the care we provide.
“It helps our teams to understand what a patient is already taking, supports safer prescribing and can reduce delays both during a hospital stay and when someone is ready to go home.
“It also helps us to reduce unnecessary waste, which is another positive step towards our sustainability goals at the Trust. All in all, it’s a simple thing that will help your local NHS teams to help you.”
As part of the new campaign, a range of answers to frequently asked questions is available at https://
