Your location is set to Canterbury. A paramedic befriended a "vulnerable patient" and gave her money to buy birthday presents for her young son after offering to pay her for sex, a tribunal heard. Simon Trafford, who was based at the Medway Ambulance Station in Chatham , contacted the woman after treating her for gall stones at her home a year earlier. About a year later they became friends on Facebook - although the tribunal was not able to establish which party had added who or exactly when.
The first message said: "It's a shame yr with [Person C] otherwise I could have given you money in return infor something Ive not had in nearly two years!
I so shouldn't have text you that I must behave! Mr Trafford later sent another saying: "Oh I see so technically yr with him. Getting old to!!! He told the panel: "My intention in sending the first message about sex was really stupid. I took it too far. Members of the panel described Mr Trafford's actions as a "clear and obvious effort" to engage in a sexual relationship.
He handed over the cash after she claimed she had no money to buy her son presents or a cake for his birthday. But the paramedic said he treated the money as an "apology and a birthday present for her son", the tribunal heard. Mr Trafford admitted he knew the woman "had been vulnerable" because of her financial need and the fact she had given birth to her third child just weeks before.
The panel also heard how Mr Trafford had sent his former patient his personal phone number and offered medical advice about ailments members of her family had. On one occasion, Mr Trafford assessed a rash on the woman's son by reviewing a photo she sent to him and also took the temperature of her sister. He told the tribunal about receiving a "bombardment" of requests for advice "every other day" from her. But the panel noted he still gave the advice and although it fell short of providing formal treatment, Mr Trafford had failed to "maintain appropriate professional boundaries".
