"I went into hospital and was abused by a nurse - it was devastating"

A woman who was abused by a nurse has spoken about the trauma she is still dealing with and her determination to reclaim her life.

After undergoing surgery at the Royal Hallamshire Hospital, she woke up without the underwear she had been wearing.

Police recovered video footage and found Paul Grayson had videoed four women as they recovered from surgery at the hospital, as well as female colleagues using the toilet.

He was jailed for 12 years in May 2022, after pleading guilty to 23 sex offences including voyeurism, sexual assault and possessing indecent images of children.

Jailing him, a judge said Grayson was “fixated by sex” and branded him a disgrace to his profession.

The woman said: “It’s almost impossible to put into words the emotions and anger I continue to feel about what happened, not only to me, but to others.

“I went into hospital focused on my procedure and on receiving the care I needed. To find out a sick individual abused me and others for his own gratification is devastating.

“Since then, my mental health has taken a real downturn. While I’ve tried to forget about what happened and blank it out, I’ve not been able to. It’s remained with me and has affected my day-to-day life for years.

“I don’t feel safe going out. I have issues in trusting new people, and am also fearful of what may happen if I need to undergo further medical procedures.”

Grayson, who had more than 25 years’ experience as a nurse, also filmed two other young women with hidden cameras. They were not connected to the Royal Hallamshire.

His offending came to light when one of those women became suspicious. Files were then discovered on Grayson’s computer.

The woman added: “As if what happened to me wasn’t bad enough, to think that there are others in a similar situation is horrifying.

“While nothing can turn the clock back and I know I face challenges, I want to try and start looking to the future and reclaim more of my life. I just hope that, by speaking out, I can help others who have been abused to find the strength to report what happened to them.”

Her legal team secured an undisclosed out of court settlement from Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. The Trust denied liability. 

Joe Matchett, a specialist lawyer at Irwin Mitchell who supports survivors of abuse, said: “Grayson’s abhorrent and calculating crimes have a profound effect on those women he targeted.

“His actions were a terrible breach of a position of trust. Whilst he has been jailed, his actions continue to live with our clients who remain traumatised by what happened to them.

“Whilst nothing can ever make up for what they’ve been through, we’re determined to ensure they can access the specialist support and therapies they require to try to come to terms with what happened the best they can.

“We’re pleased that we’ve been able to secure a settlement in this case and continue to work with the Hospital Trust to ensure those we represent receive the support and justice they deserve.”

Grayson was arrested in December 2020 and was immediately suspended from work, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust previously said in a statement.

Professor Chris Morley, Chief Nurse, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said previously: “What Paul Grayson did was truly despicable and the fact that he deliberately abused the trust he was given as a nurse and work colleague is unforgivable.

“We have worked tirelessly with the Police on the investigation and whilst [the] sentence will not make what happened any less distressing for those women he abused, I hope it goes someway to deliver justice on their behalf.

“Whilst this was an incredibly rare occurrence, we never want it to happen to anyone else and as a result we are examining all of the information now available to determine if there are any further measures, we can take to limit the opportunity for someone to do this in the future.”

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