MAY PEN, Clarendon — Since moving to Clarendon to work in May Pen Hospital’s COVID-19 isolation ward last November, medical doctor Joshua Daye has been steadily losing his possessions to thieves.

A few months ago, while he worked to save the lives of Jamaicans battling COVID-19 ,burglars helped themselves to his belongings after breaking into his house in the Four Paths area of the parish. Then last Friday his car was stolen from the hospital’s parking lot.

“It has been really tough for me here, and all I’m trying to do is work,” the St Ann native told the Jamaica Observer yesterday. “They stole my iPad and my gas cylinder and nothing came out of it; and now they steal my car while I’m at work.”

He said he had parked the car it in the hospital’s main parking lot about 8:40 am as the staff parking lot’s limited spaces were all taken.

“I came back about 12:30 pm and I noticed there was another car in the spot. I was shocked; I couldn’t believe what was happening. I even thought I forgot where I had parked, so I walked around for about three minutes searching. But the last thing I could remember was that I reversed into that specific spot,” he said.

The white Toyota Axio was the 34-year-old’s first car. He had saved for three years to buy it.

“I worked hard so I could buy that car, so I’m devastated. I tried my best not to take out a loan so I bought it cash and just like that it is gone,” Dr Daye shared. “I depended on my car to take me to and from work and now I have to be taking two taxis, and I work at nights, so I will have to sleep at the hospital.”

The theft of his car has left him questioning the effectiveness of the security guards posted at the hospital. They had no idea his car had been stolen until he told them, he said.

“This speaks to the type of security management that is in place. I don’t know if these security guards are properly trained or what. The camera system needs closer monitoring and they should have better surveillance systems on government buildings,” he argued. “It is carelessness and it is unfair to me because I can’t be at work focusing on patients and doing my best and at the same time my property is being stolen.”

He added that he has been advised that he is not the first victim of thieves plaguing the grounds of the medical facility; other staff members have also been affected.

“I hear people saying that their car parts — like the cap for the wheels and their bumpers — are going missing while their vehicles are in the car park on the compound,” he said. “Under no circumstance should a member of staff feel unsafe at work. We shouldn’t be at work and feel scared at nights, especially to go in our vehicles, because people might be lurking around on the property. We deserve at least to feel safe.”

Acting chief executive officer of the hospital Eugena Clarke-James told the Observer she is aware of last Friday’s incident.

“The matter is being investigated. As you know, proper investigation has to be done in terms of what actually happened,” she said. “And we are also currently in discussion to finds ways of improving our security system so our staff can feel safe.”