Man pretended to be doctor to hospital staff
AN AYRSHIRE man accused of gaining access to staff areas at the area’s largest hospital by pretending to be a surgeon is facing a further similar allegation, it has emerged.
We previously told how Anthony Jonathon Adams Brennan allegedly managed to induce staff at University Hospital Crosshouse into giving him a set of scrubs and a pass which allowed him to access staff areas at the hospital between April 30 and May 14, 2021.
Now it can be reported that Mr Brennan has been accused of a further count of pretending to five named individuals that he held medical qualifications in an alleged incident at the same hospital on April 30 that year.
The latest complaint – to which the 28-year-old has pleaded not guilty – alleges that he wilfully and falsely pretended that he held the name or title of a Bachelor of Medicine, namely a doctor or a surgeon.
An alternative charge laid against Mr Brennan claims that he behaved in a threatening or abusive manner through his alleged actions and that he caused fear and alarm to those at the hospital.
Court papers claim that he falsely stated he was a medically qualified doctor through statements and text messages, while knowing this to not be the case.
It’s alleged that to further the pretence, he wore a gown and lanyard, obtained from a clothing store at the hospital, to induce the five named individuals into believing he was a doctor or surgeon.
The charge claims that the lanyard Mr Brennan allegedly used had an expired pass, and that he also allegedly obtained a prescription pad in furtherance of the scheme. Mr Brennan was not present when his case called at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court last week, but solicitor advocate Sandy Currie said his client denied the allegation and asked for a further pre-trial hearing to be held.
Mr Currie’s request was granted and the accused, who was listed in court papers as a resident of Mariners View, Ardrossan, will return to face the allegations at a later date.
When the previous case called in the same court at the end of June – at a hearing at which Mr Brennan was not present, and when there was no solicitor representing him – those matters were continued to a later date, at the request of the prosecution, without a plea being entered.