A 13-year-old boy was arrested on January 19th for impersonating a doctor at Derriford Hospital in Plymouth. The boy was seen by staff and other witnesses that Sunday morning wearing medical scrubs in an attempt to pass himself off as a doctor at the major NHS hospital. 

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 Whilst it remains unclear what areas of the hospital he managed to gain access to and the extent of his patient engagement, the consequences of the diabolical prank were fortunately mild… this time. Unfortunately, The incident is the latest in an apparent trend of young people impersonating medical personnel. In October 2024, another teen was arrested for pretending to be a doctor, however in this case the 19-year-old not only made it to her second day on the job but also delivered a bogus treatment to an unharmed patient before getting caught. 

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Kreuena Zdrafkova, reportedly introduced herself as Dr. Christina when she walked into Ealing Hospital without a medical degree or a job and began her work inspecting medical equipment and talking to patients. Zdrafkova was ultimately sentenced to 12 months of probation and 15 days of rehab activities and prohibited from entering any NHS facility except in case of a health emergency. 

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In this case, it does not appear that the unidentified minor had any notable patient exchanges and his ruse was much more easily uncovered. However, he was in possession of a fake hospital ID at the time of his arrest, though it’s also unclear if or where he used it and who could have possibly been deceived by the two children in a trench coat style charade. 

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A representative for Devon and Cornwall police stated:

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“Police were called at around 10.30am on Sunday, January 19, by Derriford Hospital security following reports from staff of a male impersonating a doctor at the hospital. Officers attended and arrested a 13-year-old boy.”

They added that the boy was later

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 “de-arrested and the matter has since been dealt with by way of words of advice and intervention/education work from the Child Centred Policing Team”.

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The youngsters light reprimand was no doubt due to his young age, the brevity of his deceit and the lack of harm caused. Nonetheless, it raises many questions about just how easily an individual (much less a child) can impersonate a medical professional and gain dangerous access to medical equipment, information and even patients themselves! 

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