Wirral GP who set up fake appointment for sex deemed fit to work

Dr Marc Paton has worked for Miriam Primary Care Group since 2016

A doctor who set up a fake appointment to act out a sexual fantasy with a patient at his surgery has been deemed fit to return to work.

Dr Marc Paton agreed to set up a bogus encounter at the practice in Wirral, Birkenhead on Merseyside.

He referred himself to the General Medical Council (GMC) after a blackmail threat by the patient.

GMC officials said his conduct warranted a six-month suspension, which has now been lifted.

Dr Paton qualified in 2004 at the University of Liverpool and worked in New Zealand before returning to the UK in 2015.

He joined Miriam Primary Care Group where he has worked since October 2016 and became a partner two years later.

A Medical Practitioner Tribunal Service (MPTS) hearing heard Dr Paton met Patient A on Grindr in September 2021 and, on their second meeting, agreed to go to his house.

Due to the proximity of Patient A's address to the surgery, Dr Paton used the database to see if he was a registered patient.

On discovering he was, Dr Paton was said to have initially declined to meet "but subsequently was won over by Patient A's argument that they had never met professionally and that he would register at a different practice".

'Unforgiveable actions'

On their second meeting, Dr Paton said Patient A expressed a desire to play out a fantasy of having a sexual encounter at the surgery.

At first, the doctor said he refused but was persuaded by Patient A, setting up a bogus appointment in Dr Paton's clinical room.

An MPTS report said he then carried out a clinical consultation regarding Patient A's mental health to justify seeing him.

Dr Paton provided clinical care and advise to Patient A on a further five occasions.

In March 2022, Patient A made a blackmail demand for money to Dr Paton and threatened to expose the relationship.

The pair shared graphic images and Dr Paton said he was scared of what Patient A may do if he declined a sexual encounter at the surgery.

When the events came to light at the practice, the doctor described it as "like an explosion" which he feared could lead to him losing his job and career.

The report said: "He said that he had felt his actions were unforgivable.

"He said that he felt humble and grateful that the practice stuck with him and that they placed their faith in him and had slowly learned to trust him again."

The GMC said it felt there was sufficient enough to provide Dr Paton "with an opportunity to demonstrate further development of his insight, further address underlying unhelpful core beliefs in his therapy, and allow him to show that he had taken steps to further reduce any risk of repetition".

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