Thieves target expensive hospital equipment

Hospitals in Britain are falling victim to criminal gangs who are stealing expensive medical equipment from hospitals to sell on the black market to eastern Europe and Africa.

According to police and the NHS internal security service, very expensive medical equipment has been stolen from hospitals across the country.

A hospital in York had 300,000 pounds worth of endoscopy equipment, used for internal examinations, taken in a recent raid; while Leicester General Hospital and Newcastle's Freeman Hospital have both had endoscopes stolen and the University Hospital of North Durham had a heart scanner costing 35 000 pounds taken.

The police believe the thefts are the work of organised criminal gangs who appear to know what they are doing.

A spokesman for the NHS Security Management service said they were working closely with the police and had advised hospitals on how best to protect their equipment.

He says the theft of such equipment is deplorable and diverts much needed resources away from patient care.

Detective Sergeant Judith Smith of North Yorkshire Police, who has been liaising with forces around the country, knows of 10 cases where medical equipment had been taken.

She says there are similarities in the cases and as it is specialist equipment which has been stolen, the assumption is the thieves have a market to sell it to.