Liverpool doctor caught by police in online sting struck off

The tribunal heard the doctor instigated a conversation of an overtly sexual nature with what he believed was a 12-year-old girl

A doctor who told a girl she would be "great in bed in a few years" has been struck off the medical register.

Dr David Walker, who worked as a GP registrar in Liverpool, messaged an account he thought was a 12-year-old girl called Ellie in July 2021.

The Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) heard he was actually talking to a police officer and later received a suspended sentence.

A MPTS panel ruled he should be barred from continuing his medical practice.

A hearing was told Walker qualified in 2017 and previously worked at Wirral University Teaching Hospital between 2017 and 2019.

It was told that on 8 July 2021, he registered an account with instant messaging app Kik and sent an unsolicited direct message to an account which had the username Ellie.

'Deplorable'

The tribunal heard after Walker asked how old she was and was told she was 12, he instigated a conversation of an overtly sexual nature.

He continued to send messages for a further four days and asked the girl to send indecent photographs of herself. 

Further analysis of his devices showed a back-up email address linked to an NHS account and the Kik app had been accessed at his home, at his parents' home and at the Ormskirk & District General Hospital where he was on placement during his training.

The panel was told he later pleaded guilty to two charges at Liverpool Crown Court in May 2023 and was sentenced in July to two years in prison, suspended for two years.

Walker's representative told the panel that while he accepted his fitness to practise was impaired, the offending was "isolated and limited to a short period".

Determining his actions would be considered "deplorable" by the public, the panel ruled him unfit to practise and struck him from the register.