6 Jul, 2019 @ 10:01
1 min read

Irish expat devastated after being robbed while asleep in hospital bed on Spain’s Costa del Sol

ROBBED: Irish expat Paula Brody had her phone stolen while she recovered from broken leg ©theOlivePress

AN Irish expat is calling in police after she was robbed while staying at a hospital on the Costa del Sol.

Paula Brody, 75, from Dublin, woke up from a serious leg operation to find her smart phone and charger were stolen from her bedside table at the Hospital Costa del Sol. 

The former admissions boss at Dublin’s Institute of Education told the Olive Press how her ‘whole ward’ was robbed during the night. 

“I was devastated to wake up alone in my bed in pain and unable to move and also unable to contact any of my family or friends,” she revealed.

NOT BOTHERED: Security at the Hospital Costa del Sol did not seem to care that patients were being robbed ©theOlivePress

Brody, who lives in Manilva, had been rushed into hospital after suffering a horrific fall last week.

The pensioner suffered a broken tibia and fibula as well as a deep gash in her leg, when she fell down a friend’s stairs.

She had to be rushed to the hospital by ambulance and was quickly sedated and rushed in to surgery.

She believes the thefts, which included other phones and jewelry, were carried out by two teenage boys, around 15, who were seen by the patient in the bed next to her. 

SILENT: Those in charge at the Hospital Costa del Sol – run by the Junta de Andalucia – refused to comment on the alleged crimes ©theOlivePress

The woman told her the two lads had fled when questioned what they were up to. 

“Who knows if it was them,” added Paula, who moved to Spain two months ago.

“Whatever happens, do not leave anything on show because the security is seriously lacking there. It seems anyone can simply enter and wander around.”

Apart from the loss of her Samsung phone, she insisted that the medical care and nursing was ‘excellent’.

‘FANTASTIC’: Despite being robbed, Paula did praise the nurses working at the hospital ©theOlivePress

“The care was fantastic but the poor nurses were very overworked and so cannot look out for your belongings,” she added.

When the Olive Press asked security how many people were robbed in the alleged night, we were met with a shrug. 

The hospital meanwhile, has refused to give Paula a formal letter confirming the phone has been stolen, making it difficult to report the issue to police and her insurers.

“But I am going to make sure this case does not go undealt with. The police will find out all about it,” she added.

Hospital bosses refused to comment on the case.

Laurence Dollimore

Laurence Dollimore is a Spanish-speaking, NCTJ-trained journalist with almost a decade’s worth of experience.
The London native has a BA in International Relations from the University of Leeds and and an MA in the same subject from Queen Mary University London.
He earned his gold star diploma in multimedia journalism at the prestigious News Associates in London in 2016, before immediately joining the Olive Press at their offices on the Costa del Sol.
After a five-year stint, Laurence returned to the UK to work as a senior reporter at the Mail Online, where he remained for two years before coming back to the Olive Press as Digital Editor in 2023.
He continues to work for the biggest newspapers in the UK, who hire him to investigate and report on stories in Spain.
These include the Daily Mail, Telegraph, Mail Online, Mail on Sunday and The Sun and Sun Online.
He has broken world exclusives on everything from the Madeleine McCann case to the anti-tourism movement in Tenerife.

GOT A STORY? Contact newsdesk@theolivepress.es or call +34 951 273 575 Twitter: @olivepress

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Previous Story

Amanda Butler has a certain property ‘fantasma’ set to arrive and she’s rather excited as Spain’s Mallorca heats up

Next Story

Spain haulage firm forced by judge to remove ‘objectifying’ image of woman from its trucks

Latest from Crime & Law

Go toTop

More From The Olive Press