Elderly man has almost £300 taken while being treated at Chesterfield Royal Hospital

Terrance Wagstaff, 83, fell down in front of his Chesterfield home in December and spent the entire night on the ground, unable to get up.

A neighbour who noticed him the following morning, called the ambulance and he was taken to Chesterfield Royal Hospital's Emergency and Accidents department.

On the arrival a nurse counted the money he had in his pocket twice, put it in the envelope, sealed it and wrote down the amount - £270.

His daughter Michelle, 55, said: “My dad wanted to keep the money himself, but they refused to let him. They said it will be returned to him when he is released home.”

Mr Wagstaff was taken to the Markham ward, where he stayed until Monday morning.

When he was sent home the nurse brought in the envelope, but the seal was broken and inside there was only a bit of change.

Michelle said: “£270 for a pensioner is a lot of money. He could have paid council tax and other bills for that.”

The nurses on the ward advised contacting the PALS department - Patient Advice and Liaison Service – and PALS asked Mr Wagstaff and his family to call the police.

Police asked to see the CCTV but the footage from the day had gone missing.

A Derbyshire police spokesman said: “An allegation of the theft of cash was reported to us by the family of a patient at Chesterfield Royal Hospital in December last year.

“Despite a thorough police investigation, no offender could be identified and the inquiry was closed in May this year.”

But Michelle said more should be done.

She added: “They said that there's nothing they can do about it, because there is no CCTV. But it is not the first time my dad’s money went missing in a hospital.

“A few years ago, when he was admitted to the hospital, £20 disappeared, but he didn't report it as it wasn’t a considerable amount.

“Now it seems obvious to us that someone is taking patients’ money and if no one will speak up about this, it will keep happening.

“My dad would like the hospital to find a person responsible and take action against them, so it doesn’t happen to other patients.”

Berenice Groves, Deputy Chief Executive and Chief Operating Officer, said: “It is really disappointing to hear about the alleged disappearance of Mr Wagstaff’s money.

“We have investigated the matter from December 2021 and followed our process, engaging with the police; the outcome of this has been that the inquiry was closed and we are unable to comment further on the details concerning a previous incident.

“Patients are asked to not bring valuables to the Trust as unfortunately, we can’t take responsibility for personal belongings.”