Hospital investigates disappearance of elderly patient's watch

Wigan Infirmary is investigating the disappearance of a gold watch more than seven months ago – on the same ward as a similar incident which sparked a police probe.

WWL (Wrightington Wigan and Leigh) Patient Liaison Service (PALS) is looking into what happened to the gold watch, which belongs to an elderly lady who was admitted to the Winstanley Ward last June, following a seizure at home.

The gold watch, which had been given to her by her husband to celebrate her beating cancer several years ago, was placed in a safe during her short stay in hospital, her husband was told.

But she was returned home days later, wearing a hospital gown, with her own clothes and the watch nowhere to be found.

The lady’s husband, who asked that they not be identified, filed a complaint with the PALS team, but more than half a year later, the couple seem no closer to tracking down the watch.

Nichola Halpin, Associate Director of Quality Governance and Patient Safety, said: “It is of the utmost importance to everyone at Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust that our patients feel safe and secure when in the Trust’s care.

“Our Patient Relations team are currently liaising with the family on the investigation into (the patient’s) property.”

She added: “We can’t comment on the details of the investigation at the moment, but we fully understand the necessity to resolve this issue and will continue to work closely with the family on the matter.”

The disappearance happened a little more than four months before a similar situation on the same ward, which was reported by the Wigan Observer last November.

Maureen Gingell, from Whelley, was treated briefly on the Winstanley ward in the final days of her battle with stage four lung cancer.

She was admitted on October 11 and died on October 16.

During her short stay in hospital, staff made the decision to remove several items of jewellery she was wearing, such as rings and a necklace because her body was retaining water and swelling.

The valuables, which were going to be left to family members in Maureen’s will, were taken away for safe-keeping, and her family were told they had been placed in a safe.

But following her death, the jewellery could not be located when Maureen’s personal items were returned to her family.

The disappearance of the personal effects prompted Maureen’s son Jimmy to report the incident to the police.

The two incidents are not thought to be connected.

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