Hospital worker avoids jail

A Hairmyres Hospital worker who chatted up patients after getting contact details from their medical records has avoided jail.

Andrew Stewart often used a false name and would tell unsuspecting women their number had somehow turned up in his phone.

Stewart, of Fenwick, East Ayrshire, admitted breaching the Data Protection Act and and threatening or abusive behaviour against 16 women whose details he got illegally.

The 33-year-old was sentenced at Hamilton Sheriff Court last week after pleading guilty in December.

Sentencing Stewart – which had been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic – Sheriff Thomas Millar said: “These are extremely serious offences.

“A significant amount of data is kept by hospitals and it’s expected that this information is confidential.

“You abused the trust placed in you and extracted information for your own use.”

But the sheriff acknowledged Stewart had no previous convictions and appeared to be “sincerely sorry” for what he had done.

He had been assessed as at a “relatively low” risk of offending again and was placed under supervision for three years – he was placed on the sex offenders’ register for the same period.

Hamilton Sheriff Court heard Stewart worked in the radiology department at Hairmyres and also spent time at Crosshouse Hospital in Kilmarnock.

Court was told he gained access to patient records “without clinical or administrative reasons, ”with a 2018 investigation claiming he had stolen the private information of more than 100 women between March 2013 and August 2018.

Vish Kathuria, prosecuting, told the court Stewart would usually call himself ‘Andy Smith’ and make flattering comments about pictures his victims had posted on social media.

One of the women was a victim of domestic abuse who suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, and was alarmed at the “unsolicited” contact by Stewart.

Stewart told another victim he worked in the radiology department at Hairmyres. She suspected he had got her details from the hospital records and challenged him.

Mr Kathuria added: “In another case a woman went to Crosshouse Hospital for a follow-up appointment.

“She saw the name ‘Andy’ on a staff member’s badge, recognised him from a picture he had sent and realised he must have got her details from the hospital.

“That was the starting point for this investigation.”

Stewart attended a meeting with management and admitted he had made contact with that woman after getting her phone number, claiming it was a random act and he’d never done it before.

He claimed he had been struggling with his mental health and it was decided to allow him to continue working while the investigation proceeded.

Mr Kathuria said: “Management then discovered he had gained access to numerous sets of details and this time Stewart admitted he had contacted other patients.”

Stewart must also attend the ‘Moving Forward, Making Changes’ programme, was fined £600, and ordered to do 200 hours of unpaid community work.