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What are the risks of neglecting an inventory of inputs in a healthcare facility?

Published

16 June 2025

Read time

4 minutes

An essential legal guarantee for patients and establishments

The management of patients' personal belongings during their admission to a healthcare facility is a major issue for both the facilities and the patients themselves.

The legal framework: a clear distribution of responsibilities.

The Code de la Santé Publique sets out precisely The responsibilities of each party.

Article L.1113-1 lays down a fundamental principle: the property kept by the patient, as listed in the inventory, remains the patient's direct responsibility. The establishment, on the other hand, can only be held liable in two specific cases, as stipulated in Article L.1113-4: either in the event of a fault committed by a member of staff, or in the event of a failure in the organisation of the service.

The goods concerned

Regulation makes an important distinction between different categories of goods.

Some personal effects do not require mandatory inventory, notably:

  • Clothing and clothing accessories
  • Personal medical devices (glasses, hearing aids, and dental prostheses)
  • Mobility aids (canes and walkers)
  • Common personal effects (toiletries, bags, wallets)
  • The means of communication and documents (cell phones, keys, various papers)
Vestiaire

However, each new patient or resident must be invited to deposit their belongings "whose nature justifies their retention during the stay" and must receive written and oral information (R1113-1 CSP) regarding:

  • To the rules governing the responsibility of the establishment in case of theft, damage or loss of deposited property as well as those that are kept by the patient.
  • Fate reserved for items not claimed or abandoned by the patient.

This statement is kept by the institution. L’information figure également dans le règlement intérieur et le livret d'accueil de l'établissement. 

If no evidence of transmission of this information is provided, the patient could base their claim for compensation not on a fault of the establishment, but on a failure to fulfill the obligation of information.

Furthermore, certain objects necessary for daily life must remain in the possession of the patient, such as toiletries, glasses, or dental and hearing prostheses, for example.

When the items have been properly inventoried and left at the disposal of the patient with the authorization of the establishment's management, the regulation then speaks of a "pretend deposit".

Objects stored in room: responsibility frame

When the admitted or hosted person decides to keep with them during their stay one or more of the objects that could be deposited in accordance with Article R. 1113-1, the responsibility of the establishment or the State for military hospitals cannot be engaged under the conditions defined in Articles L. 1113-1 and L. 1113-2 que si : 

  1. The amounts of money, securities or financial instruments, means of payment or valuable items are not affected.
  2. The deposit formalities provided for in Article R. 1113-4 have been completed.
  3. The director of the establishment or an authorized person has given their consent for the preservation of the object(s) by this person.

The responsibility of the establishment can only be engaged if the deposit formalities provided for in article R. 1113-4 have been completed.

Chambre

Deposit procedure: Article R1113-4 of the Public Health Code

  1. The depository gives the depositor a receipt containing the contradictory inventory and the designation of the deposited objects, and, if applicable, kept by him in accordance with the article. R. 1113-3.  Le reçu ou un exemplaire du reçu est versé au dossier administratif de l'intéressé. 
  2. A special numbered register is kept by the depository. Deposits are recorded there as they are made, with, if applicable, mention of the object(s) being deposited and their storage by the depositor.
  3. The withdrawal of items by the depositor, their legal representative, or any person authorized by them is done against signature of a discharge. Mention of the withdrawal is made in the special register, alongside the entry of the deposit.

To summarize

In the absence of an inventory serving as proof of a fictitious deposit, if the establishment is able to demonstrate that information was indeed provided to the patient regarding the rules governing their responsibility in case of theft, damage or loss of deposited or stored goods, the liability of the establishment is subject to the demonstration of fault (the burden of proving this fault falling on the patient making the claim).

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