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Home / World

Former doctor charged with sex offences against 38 patients in UK

Michael Searles and Tom McArdle
Daily Telegraph UK·
5 Dec, 2025 11:07 PM3 mins to read

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Ex-doctor charged with abusing 38 patients at Royal Stoke and Russells Hall hospitals. Photo / Getty Images

Ex-doctor charged with abusing 38 patients at Royal Stoke and Russells Hall hospitals. Photo / Getty Images

A former doctor has been charged with multiple sex offences against 38 patients, including a child under 13.

Nathaniel Spencer, 38, is alleged to have carried out the offences between 2017 and 2021 at two hospitals in England.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) charged him with 15 counts of sexual assault and 17 counts of assault by penetration on Friday, following an investigation by Staffordshire Police.

Spencer, of Quinton, Birmingham, was also charged with nine counts of sexual assault of a child under 13, three counts of assault of a child under 13 by penetration, and one count of attempting to assault by penetration.

The offences are alleged to have taken place at the Royal Stoke University Hospital in Stoke-on-Trent and Russells Hall Hospital in Dudley.

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He will appear at North Staffordshire Justice Centre on January 20.

Ben Samples, deputy chief crown prosecutor for the West Midlands CPS Complex Casework Unit and Serious Violence, Organised Crime and Exploitation Unit, said: “We have decided to prosecute Nathaniel Spencer for a number of serious sexual offences allegedly carried out against patients while he was working as a doctor – including assault by penetration and sexual assault against a child.”

Spencer was a junior doctor and worked for North Midlands NHS Trust, which runs the Royal Stoke Hospital, before joining The Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust from August 2020 to April 2021.

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According to the General Medical Council, the medical regulator, Spencer qualified from the Medical University of Warsaw in Poland in 2017.

He obtained a provisional medical licence the same year, which became a full licence to practise in 2019, but this was not renewed in 2021, according to GMC records.

It is not clear if the alleged victims were patients or what department he was working in at the time, as junior doctors are rotated around as part of their training.

However, the CPS said the decision to prosecute had followed a “detailed and complex investigation by Staffordshire Police”.

This was previously said to have looked at the “appropriateness” of the care provided by Spencer.

He was suspended in October of this year, pending the outcome of the investigation.

The Dudley Group said a dedicated helpline had been set up for those with concerns or questions about the care they had received at Russells Hall Hospital.

Paul Hudson, the trust’s operational medical director, said: “We understand that many of our patients, staff, and people in the wider community will find this news very distressing.”

“Anyone with concerns or questions about the care they have received in our hospital should contact our dedicated helpline on 01384 322 311.

“Our dedicated colleagues continue to support those affected by these issues, while co-operating with the police and relevant authorities in their investigations, throughout the process.

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“Although we cannot comment on an ongoing criminal process, we would like to reassure the public that the safety and wellbeing of our patients and their relatives remains our highest priority.”

A spokesperson for the GMC said: “We understand this news will be concerning to the public, and particularly patients who have received treatment from Dr Spencer in the past.

“The GMC has taken action to prevent Dr Spencer from practising while we investigate his fitness to practise.

“Our investigation will continue once criminal proceedings led by the Crown Prosecution Service have concluded. Until then, Dr Spencer remains suspended and cannot treat patients.”

Sign up to Herald Premium Editor’s Picks, delivered straight to your inbox every Friday. Editor-in-Chief Murray Kirkness picks the week’s best features, interviews and investigations. Sign up for Herald Premium here.

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