DOMINICO ZAPATA/FAIRFAX NZ Ron Ferguson is appealing to the thief to return his sick wife's tablet, which contained three years' worth of family photos.
Hamilton's homeless are siphoning steriliser from Waikato Hospital and mixing it with Fanta to get high.
The theft of Sterigel hand sanitiser was a major contributor to the $27,000 in health board property stolen from hospital grounds in the past three years.
Information obtained under the Official Information Act shows 56 items were nicked from the hospital or from patients lying sick and injured in it.
CHRISTEL YARDLEY/FAIRFAX NZ Warren Meek is a Allied Security officer at Waikato Hospital.
Thefts included shower fittings; water lilies; a breast pump; tea, coffee and sugar from the intensive care unit; and fans from the renal centre.
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Thieves even hit the hospital chapel, taking the cash donation box as well as organ parts.
And thousands of dollars in personal items - including money, jewellery, phones, laptops and computer tablets - were stolen.
But it is the ongoing theft of hospital hand gel that is causing the biggest headache for security staff.
Waikato Hospital head of security David Wilson said rough sleepers want the steriliser for its high - 70 percent - ethyl-alcohol potency.
The thieves catch the bus to the Pembroke Street hospital entrance, come in and lift the bottles off walls in the open wards and in the lift lobbies.
Ad Feedback"Often they will pump it into a container in their bag and wander off."
They mix it with soft drinks like Fanta to create a sweet rocket fuel.
"They drink it and get drunk and get on the bus and abuse the driver and members of the public," Wilson said.
"It causes all sorts of concerns and has a huge ongoing effect in the community as well."
In recent months, security staff have dealt with a case a day and had trespassed four homeless people from hospital grounds.
"That is the worst theft we are dealing with all the time."
Aside from Sterigel, the most expensive items taken were a television, wheelchairs and the $7000 worth of drugs stolen by a staff member from the medication room.
Last year, hospital nurse Peta Lee Millar, 53, was sentenced to 220 hours of community work plus supervision for stealing 5000 vials of Propofol Provive, a powerful sedative, from the hospital's drug store.
The Waikato District Health Board is now investigating another staff member who was allegedly caught on camera stealing medication.
Wilson was unable to comment on the specifics of the second case, as it was currently going through an employment process.
In another case, a thief appeared to case the reception area during an appointment before coming back after hours to steal a 40-inch television from the wall.
PREYING ON PATIENTS
The sick and injured aren't immune to the hospital theft problem.
Figures show patients reported three cellphones, sums of cash, two handbags, jewellery, three laptops and a radio stolen in the last three years.
The thieves were often visitors to the hospital, Wilson said, who took a chance to make a quick buck.
"The last wave of thefts have been opportunists - they may be in a room visiting and see patients with a cellphone or laptop and when they get up to go to the toilet, they take it."
Thefts from patients had dropped in recent years - from 67 thefts in 2011 to four last year - after security was ramped up.
More closed-circuit cameras had been installed, Wilson said, and swipe-card access was implemented on certain wards.
"People don't get away with it any more, as they get caught on camera."
HEARTLESS THEFT
Paeroa resident Ron Ferguson was left devastated when his wife's tablet was stolen from her bed at Waikato Hospital.
His 70-year-old sweetheart has been in hospital since April suffering from pancreatitis and complications from septicaemia.
She left her bed for a daily walk about 11am on Friday, August 19.
"She went down the hall to get some exercise and someone came into her room and saw she had the tablet on charge, so they pulled the lead and took it away."
The HP tablet, with a distinctive red vinyl cover, had three years' worth of personal photos and information that had not been backed up.
"We didn't have one of those tracker apps to track it down."
Ferguson tried logging into his wife's Facebook account to appeal to the thief.
"I tried to let them know what they had done - the grief and heartache they had caused my poor lady."
Not only did the tablet contain family photos, it was the only form of communication for the ill woman facing months more in hospital.
"There's no television on that ward, it's the only means of contact with the outside world and keeping in touch with friends through Facebook and playing games.
"It wasn't an expensive item, but it's caused her untold heartache."
He believes it was taken by an opportunist thief who wandered in during visiting hours. Unfortunately, there were no cameras operating in the hallway of the A3 ward.
"We were gutted. All of us were upset - even the nurses were gutted, too.
"They can keep the tablet, it's just the memories we want back."
The theft was reported to police.
The Waikato DHB houses 229,250 patients each year and handles a further 69,210 emergency department presentations.
- Stuff
Source: Hamilton's homeless drinking hospital Sterigel cocktail
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