Disgraced psychiatrist struck off

Friday 14 August 2020

Convicted sex offender Gregory Lydall has been struck off the medical register after an independent tribunal ruled that anything other than the "erasure" of his license would "damage the public's confidence in the profession."

Lydall, 45, was sentenced to 30 months in prison in October 2019 for downloading hundreds of indecent images of children under the age of 16 and thousands of computer-generated images of child pornography.

The former Adult Mental Health Services Consultant for HSC has been suspended by an Interim Order of the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service since March 2019, pending a full investigation. 

Following a three-day trial this week, Lydall's license to practise was revoked by an independent tribunal, the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS). 

"The Tribunal determined that it would not be sufficient to direct the imposition of conditions on Dr Lydall’s registration," said MPTS Chairman Ian Comfort in his ruling. "It could not formulate any conditions that would be appropriate, proportionate, workable and measurable to mitigate the risk to patients and the public’s trust in the profession as a whole."

Pictured: The Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service's decision notice. 

Mr Comfort continued: "The Tribunal also had regard to the gravity of the offence Dr Lydall committed. It determined that a member of the public would be appalled at the possibility Dr Lydall could return to practise after a period of suspension, given the seriousness of his offending, and therefore suspension would not address the public’s concerns. It also determined that a sanction of suspension would send the wrong message to the medical profession and damage its reputation.

"The Tribunal determined that the only proportionate sanction that would uphold the public’s confidence in the profession and reflect the seriousness of Dr Lydall’s offences would be to erase Dr Lydall’s name from the medical register."

The General Medical Council's representative James Gelsthorpe said that Lydall’s sexual offences, including the viewing of child sex abuse materials, “seriously undermine patients’ and the public’s trust and confidence in the medical profession.”

“Any conviction for child sex abuse materials against a registered doctor is a matter of grave concern because it involves such a fundamental breach of the public’s trust in doctors and inevitably brings the profession into disrepute,” he said. 

Pictured: Lydall moved to Guernsey in 2010 to take up a consultancy post within HSC's Adult Psychiatry Services. He was removed from the Guernsey Bailiwick Register of Doctors on 20 May 2019. 

Lydall, who was unable to appear by video link, dialled into the tribunal via a telephone.

His representative, Counsel Alex du Sautoy, said there have been no indicators to suggest Lydall could go on to commit more serious offences. 

Mr du Sautoy submitted that the surest way to provide reassurance that Lydall does not pose a risk to the public is for him to show progress over a longer period of time without committing any further offences.

Pictured: A summary of the mitigation provided on Lydall's behalf. Where 'XXX' appears, it is because information has been redacted for the public record. 

Mr Comfort said the tribunal had received "positive testimonials" about Lydall’s work from some of his ex-colleagues. "Many of those giving testimonial evidence were aware of Dr Lydall’s conviction, and some referenced the difficult conversations they had with Dr Lydall when he told them about his conviction, which added some weight to his level of insight."

However, the prevailing view was that Lydall had shown no consideration for the victims of his actions, or the damage he had caused to the profession and those who would be put off seeking help in the future because of him. 

“The Tribunal first considered Dr Lydall’s insight into his conviction. It considered this to be limited and in its very early stages. In his recent reflections, Dr Lydall had focused significantly on the actions he’s taken on his own journey," said Mr Comfort.

"However, Dr Lydall did not appear to give much consideration as to how his actions had affected the victims of his crime, and the effect on the reputation of the profession.”

Lydall's name has been erased from the medical register. He has 28 days to appeal the decision before it becomes final.

Pictured top: Gregory Lydall was jailed by the Royal Court last year for 30 months for possessing indecent images of children.