A burglary at a Derbyshire hospital in which laptops were stolen and televisions pulled off walls has been described as “utterly deplorable” by police.
The break-in took place at Royal Derby hospital between 8.30pm on Monday and 7.30am on Tuesday in the hand outpatients’ area.
The hospital’s paediatric treatment area, the main therapy treatment area and a number of treatment cubicles were forced to close on Tuesday.
Derbyshire police have launched an investigation into the incident.
University hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS trust said four laptops were stolen, while televisions were broken after being pulled off the walls by the thieves.
A spokesperson said a water bath in the therapy area was also emptied, causing water damage to the ward.
Gavin Boyle, the trust’s chief executive, said the incident was “very upsetting and disheartening” for colleagues who were working in the hospital amid the coronavirus crisis.
“We take a zero-tolerance approach to theft and treat all such offences with the upmost severity,” he said, adding that the trust was working closely with the police to support their investigation.
Insp Keith Chambers, of Derbyshire police, said: “The targeted burglary of a hospital is sickening at any time – but with the current pressures the NHS faces is utterly deplorable.
“The service the Kings treatment centre provides is absolutely critical to our community and I have no doubt there are people out there with information about those responsible for this act.”
The hospital trust is at the forefront of tackling the Covid-19 outbreak in Derbyshire, where so far 401 people have died after contracting the virus.
Two staff members have died after becoming infected with coronavirus while working on the frontline at Royal Derby hospital, including Manjeet Singh Riyat, 52, who was the UK’s first Sikh A&E consultant.
The Pulvertaft hand centre, where the break-in took place, is a world-renowned specialist in hand surgery.
