‘All day we save lives and this is our reward’: A&E doctor’s car stolen from CUH staff car park

An emergency doctor working an extremely busy shift at Cork University Hospital (CUH) clocked out on Sunday evening – only to find that his car was missing from the staff car park. Now he’s asking the public for help to get it back.

CCTV captured footage of a person physically breaking the barrier to the CUH car park – and security staff confirmed to the doctor that his 2015 Toyota Aqua had been stolen at around 5pm. The doctor then walked in the snow to Togher Garda Station to report the theft, but officers explained that they “have limited resources” to deal with this kind of thing.

The emergency physician told CorkBeo: “It seems that there is no humanity nor mercy left in the people any more. All day we save lives and at the end of the day this is what we get as a reward.

“I parked my car at around 7:30am and headed to the floor, which was extremely busy this weekend. I finished at 6pm, came back after a long tiring shift and my car was missing . The security staff told me that my car was stolen.”

The doctor added that the incident has been “traumatising”, especially at such a busy time of the year for A&E. He faces several 2pm to midnight shifts in the days ahead without his car, meaning he’ll have to walk to work despite extreme icy conditions.

“I’m quite fit,” the doctor added, “but imagine it was a patient without local family who had their car stolen. They’d have no way to make it home.”

The physician spoke to officers again this morning, but there has been no update on the vehicle. Of car thefts in Cork the doctor said: “It has become a joke.”

Recent stats show that motor thefts in Cork increased last year – with 2024 seeing the highest number of thefts across Ireland in 10 years. In November Gardaí investigated a spree of early morning break-ins across the southside of Cork city, not far from CUH.

Anyone with information on the stolen Toyota (reg: 151D53153) is advised to contact Togher Garda Station at +353214947120.

Image Credits and Reference: https://www.corkbeo.ie/news/local-news/all-day-save-lives-reward-30724652