Hospitals and Printing: A History

Long before the NHS existed, hospitals were already running on paper — and today's wristbands and wayfinding signs are the direct descendants of a much older printed relationship between hospitals and their patients, donors and staff.

Voluntary Hospitals and the Printed Appeal

Britain's 18th and 19th century voluntary and municipal hospitals, institutions like St Thomas' and Barts, relied on print to survive: annual reports to reassure subscribers their money was well spent, subscription appeals to attract new donors, admission forms, and printed rulebooks governing how the hospital ran. Before any state funding existed, a hospital's printed appeal was often the difference between staying open and closing.

From Ledgers to Labels

As hospital administration modernised through the 20th century, print took on new clinical jobs: standardised drug charts, pathology labels, and forms that needed to be legible, consistent and fast to produce across a busy ward. The exact dates this standardisation happened vary hospital to hospital and aren't well documented in a single source, but the direction is clear: print became a safety tool, not just an administrative one.

Modern Hospital Print: Safety First

Today's hospital print is dominated by patient safety: barcoded wristbands for reliable identification, medication charts, specimen labels, alongside the wayfinding signage that gets visitors from a car park to the right ward, and the patient booklets that explain a procedure in plain language.

The Printed Appeal Never Went Away

Hospitals still fundraise the way they always have, just with modern print alongside modern channels: donor recognition boards, event banners for fun runs and galas, and printed appeals sit next to the JustGiving link rather than replacing it.

Where This Connects to What We Print

Hospital fundraising events, community health initiatives and hospital-adjacent charities still need banners, signage, printed appeals and donor recognition material — exactly what our large format & signage and business stationery services cover, alongside charity fundraiser t-shirts for hospital events and sponsored runs.

Frequently asked questions

How did hospitals communicate before the NHS?

Through printed annual reports, subscription appeals and admission forms, since voluntary and municipal hospitals depended on donor support to operate.

Why are hospital wristbands printed?

For reliable, increasingly barcoded patient identification, which is a core part of modern patient safety practice.

Do hospitals still print fundraising appeals?

Yes — printed appeals, donor boards and event banners are still standard, usually alongside digital fundraising platforms rather than instead of them.

Browse our large format & signage printing page, or see the History of NHS Print for the national picture.

The Hospital Sunday Idea

Print and the pulpit worked together to fund hospitals. Hospital Sunday began in Birmingham in 1859, when church collections were taken up on a set Sunday to support the town's hospitals. Any notice announcing such a day needed to be printed and passed from church to church, which is why the idea suits print so well. In 1873 Birmingham also founded a Hospital Saturday Fund, which collected money for local hospitals, opened convalescent homes and started an ambulance service. The pattern is still familiar: a clear date, a visible cause, an easy way to give.

Subscribers, Governors and the Printed Annual Report

Westminster Hospital, founded in 1719 as a charitable society, is a good example of the voluntary model. Its early income came from contributions and subscriptions from the nobility, gentry and clergy, and its promoters reported to those subscribers on how the money was used. A charity that lives on subscriptions has every reason to print its accounts and thank its givers, and being named in print is both thanks and a prompt to others. Modern donor boards and thank-you booklets are the same idea in a different material.

1948 and the Change in What Hospital Print Was For

The National Health Service began on 5 July 1948, and funding moved from subscriptions to the state. Print did not disappear; it changed job. Hospitals no longer needed to print appeals to stay open, but they needed forms, information leaflets, appointment cards and signs on a far larger scale, and hospital charities continue to raise extra money for equipment and comforts. That split between clinical print and charity print is still the best way to understand what hospital printing is today.

Florence Nightingale and Printed Evidence

Nightingale, who opened a nursing school at St Thomas' Hospital in 1860, was also a pioneering statistician and used graphical displays, notably the polar area diagram often called the Nightingale rose, to make mortality data persuasive to people who would not read tables. It is a useful reminder that clear printed design can change policy, not just decorate it.

Wristbands and the Safety Case for Standardised Print

Patient identification became a formal safety issue in England in the 2000s. The National Patient Safety Agency reported 236 incidents and near misses between November 2003 and July 2005 involving wristbands that were missing or carried wrong details, and issued guidance on the subject. The point for anyone designing printed material is that readability and accuracy are safety features. Hospital wristbands are made by specialist suppliers using their own systems, and we do not print them, but the same discipline applies to any information sheet: large clear type, no clutter, and every name and number checked.

Practical Print for Hospital Fundraisers

Anyone raising money for a ward, a hospital charity or a patient group needs print that works in a car park or a corridor. We cannot speak for any hospital, and we are not connected to one, but typical needs include:

• Matching T-shirts or hoodies for a sponsored walk, run or bake-sale team, so supporters can spot your group and sponsors can see a logo. Our charity fundraising T-shirt page covers group planning.
• A banner or poster at the start line giving the cause, the date and how to donate. Include a QR code only if you have tested that it scans from the distance people will stand.
• Thank-you cards and simple printed certificates for volunteers and donors.
• Clear lettering on any printed sheet, with sensible contrast, because many readers will be anxious, elderly or unwell.

Scrubs, Uniforms and What Colour Is For

Operating theatre clothing was once mostly white. By the 1950s and 1960s many hospitals had switched to shades of green, and by the 1970s the short-sleeved V-neck top and drawstring trousers we now call scrubs were established. Green and blue are often explained as the opposite of red on the colour wheel, reducing visual fatigue and afterimages. We can print DTF designs on scrubs, such as a team name or role, but any NHS trust or private provider will have its own uniform policy, so check what is allowed before you order. Our scrubs and workwear page has the practical details, and we do not claim any medical or infection-control standard for printed garments.

Before You Commission Hospital-Related Print

• Agree who in the organisation must approve logos and wording. Using an NHS logo without permission is not something we can sanction.
• Ask for a proof and read it aloud, line by line, for names and dates.
• Give your event date when you request a quote, and order early.
• Keep patient details out of artwork entirely.

When did Hospital Sunday begin?

It originated in Birmingham in 1859, when churches collected funds for local hospitals on a designated Sunday. The idea later spread to other towns and cities.

What did the National Patient Safety Agency find about wristbands?

It recorded 236 reports of missing or incorrect wristbands between November 2003 and July 2005 and issued a safer practice notice. That work is part of why identification bands are treated as a safety item today.

Can you print our hospital charity's T-shirts?

We print custom DTF T-shirts, hoodies and polos for groups, with proofs shown before printing. Send your logo and group size by WhatsApp, phone or email for a personal reply. Any organisation's own logo rules still apply.