Hospital thief steals purse from sleeping patient

A FEMALE patient at the Mid-Western Regional Hospital in Limerick got a rude awakening during her stay — her purse was stolen while she slept.

As the woman was recovering from her illness, a thief entered, pretending to be a visitor.

Without arousing suspicion among other patients in the ward, the thief proceeded to rummage through the patient’s bedside locker, where he found her handbag.

He slipped a purse from the handbag into his pocket as he pretended to say farewell to the still-sleeping patient.

The purple purse contained €50 in cash, as well as a Bank of Ireland debit card.

As he stood up and moved towards the door of the ward, the victim woke. But by the time she noticed that her purse was missing, the thief had departed the ward and the hospital.

Gardaí at Roxboro Road station, who are investigating the theft, said the culprit was in his late 20s.

Security staff at the hospital are reviewing CCTV footage from the hospital campus to see if they can trace the movements of the thief.

A hospital spokesman said: “It is always difficult to get a balance in any busy hospital between the interests of security and patient privacy, and also to cope with the large numbers of people coming and going throughout the day.

“Our advice to patients is not to bring valuables or large sums of cash with them into hospital or to leave personal belongings exposed to view.”