What to send to a hospital

Sending flowers to a hospital is the single most common way to have a gift rejected at reception, and almost nobody knows the rules until it happens.

What most wards will not accept

• Anything in soil. Potted plants carry fungal spores. Refused on nearly every

ward in the country, no exceptions for how nice the pot is.

• Strongly scented flowers. Lilies, freesia, hyacinth. In a shared room, a

scent one patient enjoys is a genuine problem for the person in the next bed.

• Anything at all in intensive care, oncology or transplant units. Not

discretionary — infection control.

What works

• Unscented cut flowers in water, in a container that does not need a vase the

ward will not have.

• Basket arrangements, because they sit flat and stable on a narrow bedside

table. A tall vase on a wheeled table is knocked over within a day.

• Something small. Bed space is genuinely scarce and a large arrangement

becomes the nurse's problem.

Call first. Genuinely.

Ring the ward, not the main switchboard, and ask whether flowers are permitted. It takes two minutes and it is the difference between a gift arriving and a gift being left at a reception desk. We do this on every hospital order before dispatching, and we will tell you if the answer is no.

When flowers are not allowed

Send to the family's home instead — the people sitting with the patient are usually the ones who most need something to arrive. We will hold the delivery for whatever date you choose. A cake to the ward staff is also, quietly, a very good idea.