Search for answers after £70k of jewellery goes missing from Warwick Hospital

A WOMAN has told how her elderly mother had £70,000-worth of jewellery stolen while being cared for in hospital.

Claire Parriss’s 80-year-old mum was wearing three antique diamond rings when she was rushed to Warwick Hospital, but they later vanished.

The three engagement bands, worth between £50,000 to £70,000, were set with high-quality cut and clarity diamonds and were passed down by Claire’s great-grandmother and grandmother.

Claire, who lives in Long Marston and runs a holiday lettings business, described how her 80-year-old mother was taken by ambulance to Warwick Hospital A&E on 23rd December, after becoming seriously ill with pneumonia.

Claire said: “My mum has been suffering from dementia for many years and when she was taken into hospital, she was dehydrated and delirious. By the time we got there, she was really poorly and had no idea who we were or where she was – she thought she was in a hotel at one stage.”

When Claire went back two days later, her mother was still wearing all three rings. And when she noticed a week or so later her mother was no longer wearing them, she assumed they had been locked away in the safe by hospital staff, as per protocol.

Almost a month later, when her mother was well enough to go home, Claire was shocked to be told there was no trace of the jewellery.

By that point, her mother, who lives in Alcester, had passed through A&E and two other wards.

Claire called South Warwickshire NHS Hospital Trust and asked them to check CCTV in A&E and reported the theft to Warwickshire Police.

To date, none of the rings, which are not covered by insurance, have been found.

Claire decided to speak out publicly after reading in the Herald about Wellesbourne man Alan Grantham’s 88-year-old mum Winifred whose diamond engagement ring, gold wedding band, watch and other valuables went missing after she died in Warwick Hospital.

Claire said: “Staff at Warwick Hospital admitted verbally they hadn’t followed procedure.

“Nothing was documented or locked away, even though my mum’s hands were constantly on show because she needed a drip in the back of her hand, so they could give intravenous antibiotics.

“I believe this must be rife in there, because if somebody is suffering from dementia like my mum, they’re an easy target.

“Those rings must have been taken off her hands.

“My mum is very confused and can’t remember what she’s done five minutes earlier, so if someone asked her to take off the rings, she’d do it and then forget anything had happened.”

She added: “Some people who read the first story in the Herald the other week might have thought it was a one-off, but I don’t believe these are isolated incidents – I think it’s just the tip of the iceberg.

“These patients are too sick to know what’s going on, and the same thing must be happening to a lot of other people.

“I don’t want somebody else to go through the same thing we went through – if we can stop this happening to someone else by speaking out, it’s worth it.”

A spokesperson for South Warwickshire NHS Hospital Trust said: “Our policy is that patients are advised upon admission that we can only take responsibility for personal belongings that are formally handed over.

“We take the safeguarding of these items very seriously, with a log kept of all belongings. If patients or their families have concerns about missing property, we strongly encourage them to contact our Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) and the police so a formal investigation can be undertaken.”