NHS consultant reunited with diamond ring after leaving it in scrubs
An NHS consultant has been reunited with her diamond ring after taking it off to treat a patient and leaving it in her scrubs.
Radhika Ramasamy lost the diamond ring given to her by her husband after putting it in the pocket of her scrubs before giving a patient a spinal anaesthetic in early December.
The consultant anaesthetist at the West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust handed the scrubs in to be washed after her shift, forgetting the ring was still inside.
Scrubs often transfer hospitals after going through the laundry. In this case, the scrubs bearing Ms Ramasamy's ring ended up nearly 100 miles away.
Five days later, Suraj Shah, an anaesthetics registrar based at the Royal Free Hospital (RFH) in London, discovered the ring in his newly-laundered green scrubs ahead of his ICU shift.
He said: "As I put the scrubs on something clattered to the floor and a colleague spotted the ring and alerted me. At first I thought maybe one of the nurses here had lost the ring and I put the word out through the nurse in charge.
"I checked with the doctors as well but nothing so I contacted our facilities team.
"I knew how downhearted my wife would be if she'd lost a ring that had sentimental value to her so that was in the back of my mind. As healthcare workers we often take off rings for procedures, so it's an easy mistake to make."
The RFH facilities department contacted the laundry team to see whether anyone had reported a missing ring.
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As it turns out, a consultant anaesthetist from Suffolk had, and the ring has now finally made the journey back to her from London.
Ms Ramasamy said: "To be honest, I never expected to get it back as I thought it would be crushed in the machinery at the laundry.
"I'm so happy to have it returned. It just shows how honest people are and I want to say a huge thank you to all the people involved - my end at the West Suffolk Hospital and at the Royal Free Hospital - in reuniting me with a ring that has real sentimental value to me as it was a birthday present from my husband a few years ago.
"I know it's been an incredible team effort and I am so appreciative of how so many people have gone the extra mile to track me down and return it to me."
"It's nice to feel part of a bit of a little miracle," Mr Shah added. "I'm delighted the ring has been reunited with Radhika."
