The Royal Free Hospital

A WARNING has gone out for doctors and patients at the Royal Free Hospital to remain vigilant after a spate of phone snatchings.

The area surrounding the Royal Free Hospital in South End Green has been the site of multiple attempted phone thefts in recent weeks, with medics also reporting having “issues” as they travel home after late shifts.

Phone snatchers have been targeting people in and around Belsize Park and Pond Street – home to the hospital’s entrance – over the past couple of weeks.

Dr Akifah Mojadady, a junior doctor at the hospital, said she witnessed an attempted phone snatch after leaving a night shift for Belsize Park Tube on Monday morning.

“I was coming out of the Rosslyn Hill entrance after my night shift at 8.20am. I looked up and I saw this person in all black clothes and a balaclava cycling up behind a woman and attempting to grab her phone – fortunately they didn’t get it,” she said.

“I was on my way to the Tube station when I saw the same person cycle back around. The woman [who’d been targeted] shouted at him, and I said: ‘I think that you should go now.’ At that point we were closer. I could see him more clearly: he looked like a child, he was slight, he was maybe 14, 15 or 16 years old.

“After we shouted at him, he chuckled and cycled off. I told our group chat [of Royal Free colleagues] to be aware, and then someone else said that they had also seen a similar thing happen. I don’t know if it was the same person. Then 12 hours later, another colleague was leaving and it happened to her.”

Dr Mojadady added: “I was shocked it was happening in broad daylight – I do hear about it happening in the area, so I’m always vigilant. It’s scary to think about. Especially after a long night shift, it’s something that’s not always on your mind.”

She added: “The onus isn’t on the victim, but people should be vigilant.” “I think we need to ask why teenagers are resorting to committing these crimes – but that’s a bigger question.”

The owner of a café over­looking South End Green, who asked the New Journal to withhold his name, said many of his customers had been targeted by phone snatchers in recent months.

He said: “It’s happening a lot – there’s a lot going on. A lot of our customers are patients [from the hospital] or their family members.

Phone snatchers know exactly where to target. People bring someone to A&E – and when something is wrong, people make lots of phone calls. One of my customers was making a call when someone tried to take his phone. He managed to hold on to it, but there are lots of stories like that.”

Dr Olivia el Jassar, another junior doctor at the Royal Free, said she also experienced an attempted phone snatching on her way home from work on Monday evening.

“I finished at eight o’clock, and then I ran home. It was a weird run home because a guy had cut me off earlier and was really creepy in the pitch black, so I was already freaked out,” she said.

Dr el Jassar, who has recently moved to Holloway, said she was using Google Maps to find her way home when someone attempted to snatch her phone.

“It was dark, but there were loads of people around. A guy came up on a motorbike and a helmet and tried to snatch my phone, and I pulled it back – there was a bit of a tug – he didn’t try again, and then he left,” she said.

“The same morning, two [junior doctors] on their commute to work texted to say: ‘there’s phone snatchers about’. And another doctor had her phone taken in Brixton, when she was on her way to a night shift.”

Dr el Jassar added: “I know that friends who are medics have issues after late shifts… I wouldn’t want anyone to go home feeling unsafe.”

Speaking to the New Journal, Chief Inspector Jack Rowlands stressed the importance of reporting phone thefts immediately.

He added: “We recognise the impact that theft has on the public and want to assure people that when we receive reports, we respond and investigate accordingly.

“If you are a victim of such a crime and the suspect is nearby please call us on 999 and we can deploy officers to the location. We make frequent arrests for theft and focus on delivering justice for the victim.”