Clothes that go on around a cannula
Pull-over tops are impossible with a drip line or a fresh abdominal wound, and backless slippers get you stopped by the physiotherapist. Fastenings and footwear decide how independent someone is.
There’s a guide for this
Clothing & mobility in hospital: what is actually easier to wear
Hospital clothes need to do a job.
What to wear in hospital7 recommendations
Prices are a guide. Check the retailer for the current price and delivery options.
Button-up pyjamas make dressing around a cannula or central line less of a performance. No pulling a top over your head.
Everyday pick
M&S Cool Comfort Pure Cotton Muslin Pyjama Set
£25–£50Guide price
Available from M&S · Ad
Pull-over tops are impossible with a drip line, a shoulder injury or an abdominal wound. Buttons let a patient dress themselves, which is often the first bit of independence they get back.
Something that stays on your feet between the bed and the bathroom.
Women's option
HomeTop Women's Cable-Knit Slippers
£10–£25Guide price
Available from Amazon · Ad
Ward floors are cold, hard and busier than you expect. Slippers with a proper sole and a back stay put when you shuffle to the loo at 3am, and may save you from being issued the dreaded hospital grip socks because you have nothing safer to wear.
A cardigan or zip-up layer for chilly wards — easier to manage around drip lines than a pullover.
Everyday women's
M&S Alpaca Blend Crew-Neck Cardigan
£50–£100Guide price
Available from M&S · Ad
Chemo chairs and day units run cold, and drips make you colder still. A zip or button front can be draped over a cannulated arm rather than threaded onto it — a pullover simply can't be worn.
Somewhere for the worn pyjamas that isn't the bottom of the locker.
See the example
Asnews Laundry Bags, 2-pack
Under £10Guide price
Available from Amazon · Ad
Clothes come off damp, and there is nowhere to put them. A wipe-clean bag keeps the worn things separate, hands over to a visitor in one movement, and saves everything in the bag smelling of the ward.
A bag that doesn't announce hospital, and still fits under the bed.
Everything lives in this bag for the duration and gets moved every time a bed does. Soft sides squash into a locker, a shoulder strap frees a hand for a drip stand, and something you actually like the look of makes the whole business feel less like an emergency.
Getting out of pyjamas at eleven in the morning changes the whole day.
Staying in nightwear around the clock blurs the days together. Something soft with a forgiving waistband counts as getting dressed, survives a walk to the day room, and doesn't press where a wound or a fresh scar is.
Warm feet and grip for ward floors — your own pair, rather than whatever the hospital hands you.
Women's example
Frelimiu Women's Bamboo Grip Socks
Under £10Guide price
Available from Amazon · Ad
Ward floors are hard and cold, and feet get colder as circulation drops. Grip socks let someone stand for obs and toilet trips without hunting for slippers under the bed.
