When laptops and PCs go missing, it is not just the cost of replacement which should concern doctors and IT staff. It is far too easy to leave on your hard disk confidential patient details, important research notes and lecture papers that often amount to a lifetime's work! Everyone has been advised one time or another to back up all their files but it is far too easy to forget or think that your computer is safe.

Laptops and PCs are high risk items when left alone in public spaces and physical property marking is one of the best and most cost effective ways of ensuring your IT equipment remains safe. Both our permanent visible Selectamark marking kits and our new DNA marking kits act as a superb theft deterrent.

But it is not just IT equipment that disappears…far from it! Microwaves, even walking frames are at risk and we know because we have been talking to and helping hospitals and the National Health Service protect their valuable assets for the last 18 years.

It is not just theft which is a problem though. When walking frames are issued to the elderly, relatives or carers will not always know where to return them to…unless they are permanently marked.

Kitchen appliances, such as microwaves, toasters and kettles can often wander from one kitchen to another - so why not mark them with the department or ward name to ensure you can retrieve them!