Hospital theatre nurse charged with voyeurism and sexual assaults against patients and staff

The man is also accused of taking indecent photos of children

The accused theatre nurse worked at the Royal Hallamshire Hospital in Sheffield (Getty Images)

An operating theatre nurse has been charged with a series of sexual offences against patients and staff at a large teaching hospital.

Paul Grayson, 51, has been accused of 20 offences, with most allegedly committed at the Royal Hallamshire Hospital in Sheffield.

Thirteen of the charges – 10 counts of voyeurism and three counts of sexual assault – relate to offences allegedly committed in the Day Case Theatre Unit at the hospital.

Grayson is accused of carrying out these offences against five hospital staff members and four patients between 2017 and 2020.

Three of the voyeurism charges and one of the sexual assault allegations relate to the discovery of recordings of the intimate areas of three unidentified female patients, a South Yorkshire Police spokesman said on Wednesday.

The other seven charges – one count of taking indecent photographs of a child, three counts of voyeurism and three counts of making indecent photographs of children – are unrelated to Grayson’s workplace, the spokesman said.

Chief Superintendent Shelley Hemsley, district commander for Sheffield, said: “I know this case is extremely unsettling. These charges follow an extensive investigation carried out by officers in our Protecting Vulnerable People (PVP) department.

“Despite significant and wide-ranging enquiries by the team, who have worked closely with the Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, it is highly unlikely that the three unidentified women will ever be identified as all existing lines of enquiry have now been exhausted.

“Despite this, we have pursued charges on behalf of these women so that the judicial process can continue.”

Grayson has been bailed to appear at Sheffield magistrates’ court on 4 February 2022.

Professor Chris Morley, chief nurse at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said the trust took the allegations “extremely seriously” and has fully cooperated with the police.