Dr Thomas Plimmer was struck off earlier this year but another case against him from a decade earlier has now been unearthed.
A GP struck off for a string of sex-related allegations had been allowed to carry on working as a doctor for several years despite being previously sacked for gross misconduct, The i Paper can reveal.
Dr Plimmer, a sex addict, was able to continue to practice after a private General Medical Council (GMC) hearing in 2016 into allegations of inappropriate behaviour.
The disclosures have led to the GMC being accused of “burying” the GP’s previous wrongdoing and allowing him to continue affecting women for years. One leading MP has described the GMC’s handling of the earlier case as “absolutely shocking”.
An investigation by this paper has discovered that Dr Thomas Plimmer, who has been dubbed the “Dirty Doctor” after having sex with multiple women in his surgery, was fired by another GP practice in 2014 for misconduct partly related to his sex addiction.
At the time, NHS England suspended him from being a GP for 12 months in the interests of patient safety and referred him to the GMC. But following a 2016 hearing into his conduct, he was allowed to continue working as a family doctor.
Dr Plimmer then secured a job at a new surgery in Swindon and within two years he began the sexual misconduct which led to him being struck off this year.
In April, the GMC upheld claims that as well as having sex with six women in his surgery whilst at work, Dr Plimmer masturbated in front of a colleague, showed an unsolicited video of himself having sex to a junior female colleague, and placed her hand onto his genitals over his trousers.
During the hearing, which sparked widespread media coverage, he was also found to have made a threat about a woman he was involved with, saying he would “slit her throat” if she made a complaint to the GMC.
None of the people concerned were his patients and the GMC has said the risk to “patient safety was low”. However, the full details surrounding his previous misconduct in 2014 have never been made public and his most recent employer said they didn’t know about the previous disciplinary action taken against him.
Great Western Hospitals NHS Trust said it “was not aware of the previous case when it took over the running of the GP practice” in November 2019.
Five years earlier, NHS England had referred Plimmer to the GMC. Its role, as the doctors’ regulator, is to investigate complaints against doctors and, where necessary, to hand the case over to its disciplinary arm, the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS).
But when the case was heard by the MPTS in January 2016, allegations relating to Dr Plimmer’s sexual misconduct were not included. Other claims against Dr Plimmer were brought to the hearing but the case was treated primarily as a “health” issue.
The 2016 tribunal concluded that Dr Plimmer’s work was impaired for “reasons of health” and “conditions” were placed on him for 12 months, although the GMC has not revealed what those conditions were. It decided Dr Plimmer could continue to work as a doctor.
One of the female complainants at the recent GMC hearing into Dr Plimmer’s conduct said she was appalled that the doctor’s watchdog knew about his history of sexual behaviour but failed to take what she considered appropriate measures.
She said: “The regulator needs to be held to account for it and I think that a lot of harm could have been prevented if they hadn’t been so incompetent.”
Helen Morgan, the Liberal Democrat health spokesperson, has described the fact the GMC knew about Dr Plimmer’s history but permitted him to continue as a GP as “absolutely shocking”.
“The whole system clearly needs review,” she said. “Further harm has occurred because there wasn’t transparency around the original hearing. I’m so sorry for the people who’ve been affected by that.”
Dr Plimmer, who is appealing the recent GMC decision, claimed during the hearing that his “compulsions” were due to a sex addiction from which he has suffered for 15 years. He said he attended Sex Addicts Anonymous in 2014 but that this did not work, and he relapsed.
When approached by this paper, Dr Plimmer said in 2014 he voluntarily removed himself from the register of GPs so he could seek appropriate treatment and protect his mental health.
The Independent Victims’ Commissioner for London, Claire Waxman, said she was very concerned that elements of Dr Plimmer’s previous behaviour was “buried” by the GMC.
“Instead of it being buried, it should have been dealt with transparently, openly, and that would have safeguarded the public,” she said. “But what’s happened here is there are future victims as a result from this case. So that’s on the GMC for the poor handling of the case.”
A GMC spokesperson said they were unable to answer questions about the previous case because its contents had not already been made public.
Although many of the GMC’s disciplinary findings are put in the public domain, others are kept private either to protect the privacy of the doctor or those making the complaint. It also removes findings from public record if the reason for the doctor’s impairment to practice was for health reasons.
The GMC said it will “usually” tell employers about a doctor’s past sanctions and restrictions if the employer approaches the regulator requesting the information.
A spokesperson for NHS England said that they “took into account all relevant hearings, conditions and restrictions involving Dr Plimmer throughout his time in the South West, with patient safety paramount. Our professional standards processes culminated with information being provided to the GMC for the tribunal that saw Dr Plimmer erased from the register in April 2024”.
When he was struck off in April, the tribunal concluded that “Plimmer’s misconduct was inextricably linked with his health condition, and that his compulsions were greater than his will to stop his behaviour”.
Last month, The i Paper revealed that Plimmer is now working as a therapist using a different name: “Dr Matthew”. But due to the lack of regulation surrounding psychotherapy, there are no rules preventing struck-off doctors – or anyone – becoming a therapist.
When approached for comment, Dr Plimmer said: “I have not been struck off. I am currently suspended pending an appeal.”
Dr Plimmer pointed out that 5 per cent of the adult UK population have a sex addiction, porn addiction, or CSBD [compulsive sexual behaviour disorder] and said these are people whom “sections of society has marginalised and shamed, and those who have faced mental health challenges including addictions and compulsions”.
Liz Jenkins, interim Director of Fitness to Practise at the GMC said: “There must be zero tolerance of any form of sexual misconduct… We’ll continue listening and looking for opportunities where we can play our role in making sure victims and survivors are supported and heard.”