"Pinderfields Hospital-Security Concern"

  I attended Pinderfields Hospital today, at the end of September 2018, and have to say on a whole I found all the staff very helpful and professional.

I would however like to bring to your attention, what I believe to be a failing.

I walked into the ladies toilets, on the corridoor behind the restaurant, near to the room for one of the Drs and spotted a black tote style bag, abandoned between the bin and the sinks, as there was one other lady already in one of the cubicles, I thought the bag might possibly have been hers, however she left the toilets before me, and didn't take the bag.

Having heard the various warnings about abandoned or suspicious bags or packages, I left the bag where it was, but took a photo of it, before heading to the main entrance to try and find a member of security staff, however none were to be found, and the reception desk was unstaffed, eventually I stopped a passing nurse, asked her about security and explained the situation, she didn't know how to get hold of security, so she approached the young lady who was serving customers in WH Smith, and asked if she knew.

The young woman did have a phone number for security, and gave them a call, but she said to them that I had found a bag in the toilets, the security didn't ask any further questions about it, and told her to tell me to bring the bag to her for safekeeping, and that they would be around in approx 45 minutes to collect it, this shocked me, because if it had been left there intentionally, I could be endangering mine and many other peoples lives by touching it.

In hindsight maybe I should have contacted the police, but I expected a more serious response from the hospitals own security staff.

I feel that they should be receiving training regarding the risk of terrorism from abandoned bags or packages, as the next bag to be left, might not be from a forgetful person.