Britain’s NHS is desperately seeking its pyjamas.
University Hospital Southampton said that nearly all of its January order of 2,000 pairs of pyjamas has gone missing. Only 73 remain.
It has now offered an amnesty on the garments should any of the culprits be willing to return them.
The pyjamas cost £6, leaving the hospital now £11,562 in the red.
The hospital trust said that many people are not only stealing pyjamas when they go home, but also nabbing blankets and walking sticks.
A spokeswoman said the trust was working to ensure that patients had their own clothes, or disposable gowns, to wear when they are discharged, although the trust always has gowns and nightwear to protect patents’ privacy and dignity.
The loss, she said, impacts on supplies for other patents as well as operating costs.
In January, a hospital laundry which processes bed linen for trusts in England and Wales announced plans to “microchip” items to stop them going missing. Already Radio Frequency Identification tags have been fitted to 300,000 pieces of linen.
At the same time, the NHS has had to pay out for patients’ clothing and property, such as underwear, dentures and hearing aids, which it has lost while the person was in hospital.
