Fake medic from Aberdeen fails to appear for sentencing: police are searching for him

Arrest warrant after failure to appear in court

Police are searching for 22-year-old Stephen Simpson from Aberdeen, who spent several weeks gaining access to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary while posing as a medical student, after he failed to appear at Aberdeen Sheriff Court for sentencing. As BBC News reports, after his absence Sheriff William Summers issued an arrest warrant. Solicitor Laura Gracie told the court that she had been in contact with her client, but he did not come to court.

What the accused admitted

Simpson previously admitted guilt on two amended charges out of the original six (one of fraud and five of theft): he claimed to hospital staff that he was a medical student entitled to be on the premises, and persuaded them to allow him to remain in the hospital and gain access to restricted areas, medical files, staff rooms and wards. He also admitted stealing NHS-branded clothing, a pager and a bottle of perfume. According to the prosecution, he entered the hospital in medical scrubs, NHS-branded clothing, with a stethoscope and a pager, and the fraud was committed during the period from 9 December 2023 to 26 January 2024.

A second failure to appear

This is already the second missed hearing: last week Simpson also failed to appear due to a migraine, and the proceedings were postponed. The question of sentencing now remains open until the accused is detained under the warrant. For the hospital and patients, the essence of the case is that an outsider spent weeks in wards and staff areas and had access to medical records — these are precisely the circumstances that became the subject of the admitted charges.