St Paul's Hospital to get more secure lockers for patient rooms: CEO

St Paul’s Hospital is making changes to security in patient’s rooms after a recent report of theft.

On Saturday, Michelle Linklater’s 74-year-old father had some of his personal belongings stolen from his room.

Linklater made a public plea for the hospital to give patients options to lock up their personal items when they leave the room.

On Tuesday, the CEO of St. Paul’s Hospital, Jean Morrison, said they are looking at options for all rooms to get secure lockers. Right now, half the rooms have lockers with locks and half don’t.

“We did a renovation a few years ago to make that change,” Morrison said, adding she doesn’t know how long the new additions might take.

“I don’t have a timeline..We have to find the most feasible option,” she said.

Stopping sales outside the hospital

After the theft, Michelle Linklater said she found people brazenly selling what she believes are stolen items right out front of the hospital doors.

Linklater told CKOM News she even had an opportunity to buy back her father’s belongings.

The alleged black market is something the hospital’s CEO said she wasn’t aware of until the story broke.

“It’s a societal issue that we need to work on,” Morrison said. “The front lawn is a public space, we certainly monitor for things going on that affects safety, but no security is posted outside.”

Morrison said security guards do make rounds outside when they get a chance, but only three people are on at a time.

“It really depends on what’s going on in the building,” she said. “We meet with the police regularly to discuss ways we can make the area safer.”

As of Monday, Saskatoon police said they hadn’t received a formal complaint regarding the alleged activity outside the hospital doors. Officers urge people to call when they notice strange activity.