Doctor who had sex with prostitute at hospital will not return to QA

Hospital bosses have confirmed they will not be using the services of an agency doctor who was found to have had sex with an escort while on duty at another hospital.
By The Newsroom
Published 22nd Mar 2016, 10:28 BST
Updated 22nd Mar 2016, 16:07 BST

Married father-of-one Rupert Pemsel admitted sexual encounters while on emergency duty at Princess Anne Hospital, in Southampton, in 2013.

He was subsequently blackmailed by associates of the prostitute for £10,000 over the trysts. Dr Pemsel then quit his Southampton job and became a locum with an agency and at one time was working at Queen Alexandra Hospital, Cosham.

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Yesterday he was suspended for 10 months after the chairwoman of the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service hearing, Lisa Smith, said Dr Pemsel had not been struck off because ‘it would not benefit the public to be deprived of the services of a clinically good doctor.’

The blackmail plot was subject to separate court proceedings.

In a statement Portsmouth Hospitals Trust, which runs QA, said: ‘Dr Pemsel has never been an employee of Portsmouth Hospitals, although he has previously provided services through a medical agency.

‘Following the hearing and the disclosure of its detail, Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust will no longer be using the services of Dr Pemsel.’