Former NZ paediatrician jailed in UK

A British paediatrician who worked in New Zealand hospitals is in an English prison after making and distributing indecent images of children.

Jonathan James Walsh, 47, was jailed for three years in March after pleading guilty to seven charges of making indecent images of children and 10 counts of distributing indecent images of children, The Daily Mail reported.

Walsh had worked in three New Zealand hospitals – Southland, Dunedin and Palmerston North.

Southern District Health Board chief executive Chris Fleming described Walsh’s actions as being ‘‘very disturbing’’.

A Medical Council of New Zealand spokesman confirmed it had been assisting the Devon and Cornwall police with their inquiries since learning of the charges against Walsh on July 28 last year.

According to The Daily Mail, the married father-of-two downloaded at least 27 sexual abuse films during his time off from treating children.

Walsh is now locked up in Britain’s Dartmoor Prison. He did not attend a Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service Hearing in Manchester last week, where his conduct was called ‘‘deplorable’’.

Following stints in Southland and Dunedin in the late 1990s, Walsh completed his paediatrics training in Britain. He returned to New Zealand in 2011 and worked as a specialist paediatrician at Palmerston North Hospital for a year, before heading back to the United Kingdom.

MidCentral DHB chief medical officer Dr Kenneth Clark said there was no evidence Walsh used his work computer inappropriately while employed by the health board. There were no complaints regarding the care he provided, nor any concerns raised by patients or staff.

The medical council’s spokesman said although Walsh’s medical registration was still current, he had not held a practising certificate or practised in New Zealand since September 2012.