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.

A hearing at the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) in London was told Mr Trafford bumped into her and her family at a Costa coffee shop a few months later where they had a "brief conversation".

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.

Screenshots of two messages sent to the mum-of-three in June 2018 were shown to the panel.

The first message said: "It's a shame yr with [Person C] otherwise I could have given you money in return in for something Ive not had in nearly two years! Lol! (I so shouldn't have text you that) I must behave! X"

Mr Trafford later sent another saying: "Oh I see so technically yr with him. Sorry I was mis behaving & feeling deprived ive had nothing sexual for best part of two years!!!! Getting old to!!!"

He told the panel: "My intention in sending the first message about sex was really stupid. I took it too far.

"I knew it was wrong and overstepping the mark and I should not have sent it.

"I am really sorry that I did.

"I am proud of the ambulance service and would not want to bring it into disrepute."

Members of the panel described Mr Trafford's actions as a "clear and obvious effort" to engage in a sexual relationship.

'I knew it was wrong and overstepping the mark and I should not have sent it,' Simon Trafford

The panel was told Mr Trafford later gave the woman £40.

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.

'It's a shame yr with him otherwise I could have given you money in return in return for something Ive not had in nearly two years! Lol!' one of the texts sent by Simon Trafford

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".

The hearing was told Mr Trafford had a previously "unblemished" career with South East Coast Ambulance Service (Secamb) - working for the service for 23 years, gaining the Queen's Medal for Long Service and Good Conduct in 2017.

But he was found to have breached several ethical standards from the HCPC's code of conduct.

These included failing to keep a professional relationship with the patient, breaking rules about communicating responsibly and appropriately including via social media networks and maintaining public trust and confidence and the profession.

He was immediately suspended by Secamb the day after the complaint was received by the service.

The panel heard Mr Trafford has made "genuine and ongoing efforts to remediate his conduct" through training courses but there remained "a real risk of repetition".

Mr Trafford kept his job as a paramedic but was placed under review for 12 months following the hearing in London earlier this month.

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