“A person walks into a hospital room at 10 p.m. and it doesn’t bother anyone.” Via the orange Alert us button, Eric is offended. Hospitalized at Cliniques Saint-Luc after an operation, her mother was reportedly robbed in the middle of the night in early March. And it even seems that she surprised the thug.
Following his mother’s misadventure, Éric (first name assumed for the sake of anonymity) wonders about the safety of our hospitals. At the beginning of March, his mother was hospitalized in the orthopedic department of Cliniques Saint-Luc following an operation. While he visits her, Eric is intrigued by the story she tells him. “She tells me she woke up during the night and someone was in the room. He made small talk and pretended to be someone from the cleaning crew,” says Eric. Room cleaning service while patients sleep? The approach surprises Eric.
In order to dispel any suspicion, he checks his mother’s satchel. “He was robbed of €100 in cash from his wallet”, he says. For Eric, no other possible scenario: the one who pretended to be a member of staff is in fact the thief. “So that means an individual is walking around hospital rooms and robbing patients,” he is indignant.
It’s unimaginable
According to him, the medical staff, to whom he communicated the facts, were not surprised. And it is precisely this lack of reaction which annoys our witness. “It’s unimaginable. There are no cameras, no surveillance to make sure no one enters the rooms. I find it disturbing”, he exclaims. Éric explains that it was suggested that he file a complaint with the police. But for him, the situation is serious. “How safe are our hospitals? Where are we going?”he hammers.
Sylvain Bayet, spokesperson for Cliniques Saint-Luc, tells us that thefts are “uncommon” within the establishment. In order to prevent this type of incident, we are told that the Saint-Luc University Clinics security service works in collaboration with the police in the Montgomery area: presence of a police station on site, easy access within the institution , transmission and processing of reports.
A patrol system and cameras
“A patrol system has also been set up within Saint-Luc by the Security Service. Finally, we can note the presence of cameras in certain areas”, adds the spokesperson. Despite these measures, the establishment recommends that people in hospital do not bring valuables to the hospital. A safe is thus made available to them free of charge.
In recent years, the number of thefts and extortion committed in hospital rooms and recorded by the federal police has been falling. On average, there were an average of 11 thefts recorded per day in 2012. In 2022, there were less than 2 per day. In 2022, there were 135 complaints for theft and extortion in hospitals in Brussels, 170 in Wallonia and 219 in Flanders. Important clarification, these are indeed thefts declared to the police, there is no doubt that certain facts, not being declared by the victims, pass under the radar of the authorities.
