Bike used by NHS worker to recover from Covid stolen from Chichester Hospital

An NHS worker’s bike has been stolen while they were on shift at St Richard’s Hospital in Chichester.

The NHS worker, who finished their shift three hours late to find the bike gone, said he had reason to believe the bike storage area was covered by CCTV.

When he asked for footage to assist the police investigation, however, he was told this was not the case.

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“Where the bike was locked up, they’ve got CCTV pictures up to say that it’s a protected area.” He said “but there’s no CCTV there. There’s no coverage.”

This is despite the fact that NHS workers are now encouraged to cycle into work via the government approved Bike 2 Work scheme.

“I think the money needs to come from the hospital to look at the issue. They have it in the entrances, but it’s not covering the bike racks and that’s really where we need to have it. Just to help the workers, I think.”

The staff member, who lives in Bognor Regis, said he contracted Covid-19 last year and had been using the bike to recover

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He said: “ It took me about four months to save up, and I was using my daughter’s bicycle before that. So it’s a relatively new bike, only about three or four months old.”

The bike cost the best part of £1,000 and, though the worker says he has other ways of getting to work on time, cycling gave him an opportunity to reflect on the day.

“It gave me time in the morning to myself, somewhere I could be with my own thoughts.” He said. “You seem to think a bit better when you’re on a bike then when you’re in a car, and I thought about riding as a way of de-stressing.”

Even so, the staff member doesn’t want to dwell on the theft, making clear that there are worse things in the world than a stolen bike. He said: “This isn’t some big, sad story. This happens to everyone, and there are a lot of people worse off.”

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The bicycle, a Scott Sub Cross 20 mountain bike, with an extra-large silver/grey frame and Schwalbe tyres, was stolen on March 9. A spokesperson for Sussex Police has asked anyone with information about the bike to report it online and quoting 296 of 10/3.

The Western Sussex Hospital Trust, which runs St Richard’s Hospital alongside Worthing Hospital, has been approached for comment.

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