Officials ‘angry and embarrassed’ after senior doctor’s clothes were stolen in a hotel prank

Doctors broke into a plush hotel room and stole all clothing from a senior colleague during an annual doctors’ conference in Brighton.

They duped a staff member at the 4 star Hilton Hotel to get into the room before ransacking one of the committee chair’s wardrobes on Wednesday night.

British Medical Association officials lambasted the ‘unprofessional’ and ‘disappointing’ behaviour, thought to be by junior doctors.

Hundreds of medics heard how those were responsible risked facing a criminal investigation while the employee was left facing the sack.

Dr Andrew Dearden, BMA treasurer, said the prank by unidentified doctors had left him ‘angry’ and ’embarrassed’.

A senior doctor had his clothes stolen from his room at the Hilton Hotel in Brighton, in what is thought to have been a prank by junior medics

‘This is as angry as you will ever see me’ 

‘I want you to know that this is about as angry as you will ever see me so forgive me if I seem a little hesitant when I speak,’ he told the meeting.

‘Last night we found and heard that a prank had been played on one of the chairs of a branch of practice where his room was entered illegally and without permission by a member of the meeting and stole all of that person’s clothes.

‘The importance of this is the Hilton has taken this very seriously and there is the potential for a criminal investigation and there is a potential that a staff member who was duped into allowing access will lose their job.’  

Officials suspect that some of the doctors attending the four-day conference planned the theft on a Whatsapp group. 

Asked that no hotel staff are punished 

Senior representatives met the manager of the hotel, on Brighton seafront, to ask that the staff member did not face disciplinary proceedings for the doctors’ dishonesty.

He went on: ‘I am going to meet with the manager of the Hilton and I am going to ask them not to punish a trusting member of staff and if you will excuse me I will go and do that now because I feel we need to act quickly rather than let some poor innocent soul suffer what other people think is funny.’ 

The annual meeting happens at different cities across the UK to vote on important matters facing the profession like staffing and pay.

‘Disappointed in unprofessional behaviour’ 

Anthea Mowat, BMA representative body chair, described it as ‘behaviour that does not befit professionals who are attending our annual conference.’ 

She said: ‘I’m so disappointed that there has been this happening.

‘I appreciate it is only a couple of incidents but I really would endorse, encourage, insist, that next year we do not have behaviour that falls below that expected of a professional.

‘I hope you will take that on board.’ 

The Hilton declined to comment. 



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