Hospital patient, 83, has wedding ring 'ripped off'

Laura Martin's parents were married for 47 years

An 83-year-old man had his wedding ring "ripped off" his finger while he was in hospital, his daughter has said.

Laura Martin, from Portsmouth, told the BBC her father has been a patient at the city's Queen Alexandra Hospital since Good Friday.

She said when she visited him on Saturday morning he told her it had been violently pulled from his finger during the night.

The chief officer of Portsmouth's hospitals trust apologised for the incident and said an internal review had been launched.

Ms Martin said the gold ring is engraved with her mother's name, Mary, and the date her parents got married

Ms Martin said her mum passed away three years ago, my dad has worn his wedding ring for 50-years "without ever taking it off".

She said: "It's not worth anything, it's just sentimental and I want to get it back for him.

"A low-life scum literally ripped it off his hand while he slept overnight.

"My dad has delirium, most of the time he doesn't know what's going on."

But she said her father remembered the ring being "ripped off his hand in the dark" and said he had been "robbed".

Ms Martin said: "He told me they said it was 'very nice' and twisted it off his finger, he has been left with a mark and bruising.

"It's disgusting what's happened to my dad, we want the ring returned."

'Huge sentimental value'

Peter Ridley, chief officer at Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust, said: “We are very sorry this incident occurred whilst the patient was in our care and for the distress this has caused.

"The theft has been reported to the police and we have launched an internal review into the incident to ensure we can learn any lessons and improve the management and safety of patient property.

"We are in contact with the patient and their family and will share the outcomes with them.

"We ask all patients to not bring valuables into the hospital whenever possible, however we understand that some items, like wedding rings, hold huge sentimental value and are not regularly removed by patients."

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary spokesperson said: “We received a report at 11:53 on Saturday 6 April of a theft at QA Hospital.

"A patient aged in his 80s had a wedding ring removed from his finger at the hospital."