‘Distasteful’ Google searches lead to caution

Paul Welch was a radiographer at West Berkshire Community Hospital, Thatch-am, and had been employed by the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust for 35 years before his resignation in October 2012.
The hearing, at the Health and Care Professions Council in London, on September 26 and 27 heard that 59-year-old Mr Welch, of Coalport Way, Tilehurst was investigated after colleagues, using Google, found previous computer searches including “naked” and “up-skirt”, as well as searches relating to a female referred to in the hearing only as “AB”.
The matter was reported to the radiology services manager who studied the work rotas and found that Mr Welch was the only member of staff on duty on the days of the searches. He was suspended in June 2012.
Pathology services manager for the trust, Geoff Pinney, who interviewed Mr Welch, found the searches included such items as “AB” on May 3 and May 10, “AB”, “naked celebrities” and “upskirt no panties” on May 11, between 5pm and 5.30pm; “AB” again on May 14; and sexually explicit search terms on May 18 between 5pm and 5.30pm.
Although Mr Welch admitted that he made searches in relation to “AB”, he denied that he was responsible for the explicit searches.
Instead, he said that another radiographer or someone else must have gone on to the computer after him and carried out the inappropriate searches.
He also stated that staff did not always turn their computers off fully, meaning that the computer remained logged on and could be used by others.
He later retracted his admission stating that others also knew AB’s name and could have used it to set him up. He argued that he was not liked by colleagues and that they could not confirm that he was actually working at the times that the searches were made, owing to the flexi-hours system used in the department.
However, the HCPC panel found him guilty of misconduct and gave him a four-year caution order (this means that he can continue working but must not do anything wrong during that period, or
he will face harsher treatment by the council.
His case will also be reviewed at the end of the caution period to satisfy the council that he is still eligible to work).
A statement made by the panel said that his searches were “by their very nature, inappropriate” and that they “involved matters of a sexual nature not associated with the work of the radiology department.”
It said: “The registrant was the most senior radiographer on site. He was responsible for maintaining professional standards in the department.
“His use of a work computer, in a work setting, to search for inappropriate material, is behaviour which is likely to damage the public’s confidence, both in the registrant and the profession.
“The panel is satisfied that the registrant’s actions are serious, and are in breach of the code and amount to misconduct.”