Huor Kim Chung, 89, and her daughter Wendy Chung have been left devastated after their mother's precious earrings and other valuable items were stolen from beside her hospital bed in Hutt Hospital.

An 89-year-old great grandmother was robbed of her handbag containing sentimental jewellery while recovering from a traumatic injury.

A fall on Wednesday night left Huor Kim Chung in Hutt Hospital, Wellington with a fractured femur.

There were doubts she would survive the three-hour operation because of a pre-existing heart condition.

She pulled through but in a devastating blow, she was robbed of precious earrings given to her by her late husband while her concerned family where crowded around her bed.

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A handbag containing the earrings, an engagement ring and a large sum of cash was snatched by "low-life scumbags".

Daughter Wendy Chung, exhausted and emotional after a three-day vigil at her mother's side blames herself.

Before her mother was wheeled into surgery Wendy removed the jewellery and put the pieces into her handbag which was sitting just out of arm's reach.

Son-in-law Peter Cotton said when Chung was brought back to the orthopedic ward after the complex operation to recover, the curtains were pulled around the bed obscuring the handbag.

"That's most likely when the low-life scumbags took the opportunity to steal the handbag and all its contents," he said.

Wendy said the earrings were a gift from her late husband and her mother always wore them.

"They are the most precious of items," she said.

"My mother kept asking for them but I couldn't tell her the truth until she was stronger."

Chung and her late husband had lived through the Pol Pot regime in Cambodia.

The diamond clustered earrings in the shape of a flower survived being pillaged by Khmer Rouge forces only to be pilfered by opportunistic thieves in a New Zealand hospital decades later.

"My father kept the earrings hidden during the Pol Pot regime. They were a symbol of his love for my mother," Wendy said.

"She is in shock and just wants them back. She still doesn't think they are really gone."

Cotton said being in hospital was distressing enough and it was not a place people should have to worry about being robbed.

"I never thought there were people cruising around hospital halls looking to prey on already vulnerable people. It's a pretty despicable thing to do to a sick person."

The hospital staff were also gutted and had been very supportive, he said.

They were hoping CCTV footage will identify the thieves.

Cotton said he wanted to alert other people to the incident so it could raise awareness that "something like this can happen" in a place you least expected.

"Unfortunately during normal visiting hours anyone can wander the wards. Access is pretty easy," he said.

A Hutt Valley District Health Board spokeswoman said it was very disappointing something like this happened.

The hospital recommended patients leave valuables at home where possible, she said.

"If anyone sees any suspicious behaviour they should report it to a staff member immediately. Patient bedside drawers can be locked and a nurse can keep the key safe if needed."

The theft had been reported to police, who are investigating the incident.