Man in Court After Pretending to Be a Children’s Hospital Doctor

James Burke
By James Burke
December 22, 2017World News
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Man in Court After Pretending to Be a Children’s Hospital Doctor
A man tricked staff members at a children’s hospital in the Australian city of Brisbane that he was a qualified doctor. (pixabay.com)

A 25-year-old man is facing the possibility of a jail sentence after impersonating a doctor at a children’s hospital in Australia over a period of six months.

Nicholas Delaney pleaded guilty at the Brisbane Arrest Court to one charge of attempted fraud and two charges of entering a premises with intent on Thursday morning.

Delaney was unrepresented during court proceedings and he has yet to learn of his punishment which will be announced next year, reported the Brisbane Times.

Before then, Magistrate Stuart Shearer advised him to seek legal representation.

“You shouldn’t underestimate the seriousness of your offences,” Shearer said.

Delaney posed as a medical doctor at Lady Cilento Children’s Hospital and nearby Ronald McDonald Children’s House from May until he was arrested on Dec. 7.

Delaney was in fact a wardsman and not employed at the medical facility either, reported AAP.

“It’s hardly a trivial offence to be impersonating a doctor in a children’s hospital over an extended period of time,” Shearer said, adding that potential punishments included time in jail.

A report by the Courier Mail claims Delaney told police had been trying to impress male staff members.

The police prosecutor said Delaney had accessed staff-only areas, and that according to preliminary hospital investigations, it is not believed Delaney had any interaction with the patients, reported Nine News.

“A review of security systems will be conducted at Lady Cilento Children’s Hospital,” Children’s Health Queensland Hospital and Health Service chief executive Fionnagh Dougan said in a statement.

Delaney was arrested after suspicions were raised about the validity of his claims of being a doctor through his misuse of medical terms.

Police found a hospital lanyard that Delaney allegedly stolen from the nearby Ronald McDonald Children’s House sometime after May, reported Nine News.

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