Equipment stolen from medic’s car outside home

AN AMBULANCE worker has shared her anger after work equipment costing thousands of pounds was stolen from her car while it was parked on her drive. Following a shift in Bargoed on Wednesday, November 23, Kayleigh Hallworth left her car on her drive outside her home at Thompson Close in Lliswerry, Newport.

The following day, when she returned to her car on Thursday afternoon, Kayleigh was shocked to find the passenger door of her Peugout 3008 had been broken into and the car had been ransacked.

“The central console was open, the glove compartment was open, and the car was a mess,” Kayleigh, who is an emergency medical technician covering the Gwent region for the Aneurin Bevan University Health Board, said.

“All of the invaluable stuff was all over my car, it was a mess. The valuable things had been taken. They took my iPad, Sat Nav, and my work kit which included a respiratory mask, a road traffic collision helmet, a white tyvek suit, a personal observation kit, a temperature gauge and a blood glucose monitor.

“They also took my amplified stethoscope which I need because I am hard of hearing. They are very expensive and I had it specially ordered for me.

“It has upset me to be honest. It’s not something I ever thought would happen to me. The same has happened to my colleague recently. I want to raise awareness of it to act as a deterrent.

“When this happens it hits the service hard. It takes potentially lifesaving equipment away. We have to use the iPads to make patient referral forms and with them we are able to see previous paperwork on the patients’ medical history. I haven’t been able to do my job properly and complete those forms.

“I’m not so upset about the cost of the equipment, but the harm this does to an essential service and how it impacts me performing my role is upsetting. It would have been clear to the person who did this what they were doing by what they took and also because my jacket which was in the car at the time is clearly a Welsh Ambulance Service jacket.”

Kevin Crowther, the Welsh Ambulance Service’s manager in south east Wales, called the theft “downright offensive”. “Theft is unacceptable under any circumstances, and theft from an emergency worker in particular is downright offensive,” he said.

“Among the items stolen was a Trust-issue iPad, a vital tool for our frontline workers which helps them perform their duties more efficiently and deliver a better service for patients. We would encourage anyone with information to call Gwent Police on 101 quoting 2200397150.”