"Loss of personal belongings"

This story has been posted by Healthwatch Tameside on behalf of a member of the public. We have their details and will forward any comments to them. They said… 

I attended Tameside Hospital for a Colonoscopy in February 2019. This is the third time that I have had this procedure carried out, but the first time that a nurse suggested that I remove my hearing aids as I would be required to lie on my side.  I did remove my hearing aids and handed them to the nurse for safe keeping.  After recovering from the procedure, I returned home and realised that the hearing aids were not with the rest of my possessions.  I contacted the Colonoscopy department and the recovery ward, but no-one could find the hearing aids and said that they knew nothing about them.  I understand that the nurse who suggested that I remove the hearing aids and took possession of them from me said that they had no knowledge of them. 

The result of this is that I have now been without my hearing aids for over 2 weeks. I am in the process of having them replaced, but this will take another week or so before I get them. This is having an extremely debilitating effect on my life.  I am unable to hear.  

If I had been told to remove the hearing aids before I got into the room, I would have left them safely with my other possessions.  If aids such as these or glasses have to be removed surely there could be a system to ensure that they are put in an envelope or something that has the person’s name or hospital number on it.  In addition to the debilitating effects of being without aids there is often a large cost to replacing them.