Lukasz Woda
Introduction
Lukasz Woda was a vascular surgeon working at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge when he was charged with making indecent photographs and moving images of a child. The 32-year-old, who lived in the city’s Trumpington district, pleaded guilty to three offences and was sentenced at Cambridge Crown Court to five months’ imprisonment, suspended for eighteen months, at a hearing on 9 January 2025. In the same week as his criminal sentencing — the police investigation having run its course — the hospital trust terminated his contract with immediate effect, and in June 2025 a Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) tribunal completed his removal from medicine by directing that his name be erased from the GMC register. The tribunal found the content of the images, the sexually motivated aspect of his conduct and his use of concealment measures amounted to “an extremely serious breach of professional standards”.
Background Information
Woda qualified in 2008 from the Uniwersytet Mikolaja Kopernika w Toruniu in Poland. He completed his specialisation in general surgery and earned a doctoral degree in 2016, qualifying as a vascular surgery specialist in 2021; he stated that this qualification was formally recognised by the General Medical Council in 2023. At the time of the events he was practising at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, part of Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. His GMC number is 7989346. The record this page draws on does not state further personal circumstances, and this page does not guess at them.
The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation
Convicted, not merely alleged. The erasure rests on criminal convictions to which Woda pleaded guilty at Cambridge Crown Court. The tribunal’s role was to assess the consequence for his registration.
Police seized two phones and a laptop from Woda. Digital forensic examination established that he “actively searched for terms directly associated with indecent images of children”, undermining his account that he had “unintentionally acquired a folder containing indecent images” that he “immediately deleted upon recognition”. In total he was convicted of having 326 indecent images, of which 50 were Category A — the most serious classification. He was charged on 30 August 2024.
At Cambridge Crown Court Woda pleaded guilty to three offences of making indecent photographs and moving images of a child. On 9 January 2025 he was sentenced to five months’ imprisonment, suspended for eighteen months, fined £1,000, and placed on the sex offenders register for ten years. He told the court he had drunk 300ml of whiskey at the time of the offence and “was not fully aware of what he was doing” — an account the digital evidence contradicted. Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said none of the offences were linked to his work at the trust or involved patients; his contract at Addenbrooke’s was terminated with immediate effect upon charge.
The MPTS tribunal hearing ran from 25 to 27 June 2025 and was told Woda “fully accepted responsibility for his actions”. The tribunal was satisfied that the content of the indecent images, the sexually motivated aspect of his conduct and the use of concealment measures “amounted to an extremely serious breach of professional standards”, concluding that his actions “fell far below the expected standards and amounted to serious misconduct”. The General Medical Council’s representative, Colette Renton, submitted that the public would be “appalled” that a doctor holding the esteemed position of vascular surgeon had committed such offences, and that his actions would have a “serious negative impact” on the reputation of the profession: “The public should trust that their clinician is not involved in illegal activity, particularly which pertains to a sexual interest in those who are vulnerable such as children.” The tribunal directed erasure on 27 June 2025. The MedicWatch record of the decision confirms the outcome: impairment on a conviction/caution case, erasure directed.
Public Reaction and Consequences
BBC News covered the case at both stages — the criminal sentence in early July 2025 reporting the tribunal outcome, and the erasure — noting that Woda had worked as a surgeon at Addenbrooke’s when charged. The local paper for the Royston area, the Royston Crow, reported the strike-off under the headline “Doctor struck off medical register after conviction”. The published record contains no public statement from Woda beyond what was reported from his court and tribunal submissions. The concrete consequences stack: a suspended custodial sentence, a ten-year term on the sex offenders register, the loss of his hospital post on charge, and erasure from the medical register.
Current Status
Woda is struck off the UK medical register, erased by direction of the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service on 27 June 2025. The determination notes that erasure can be reviewed after a minimum of five years but is otherwise indefinite. His sex offender registration runs for ten years from the January 2025 sentence, and the suspended sentence remains capable of activation during its eighteen-month operational period. The published record shows no appeal and no restoration application.
Impact on Their Career/Life
Striking off ends Woda’s medical career in the United Kingdom at the point it had only recently crested — a recognised vascular surgery specialist at one of the country’s leading hospitals. A sexual offence conviction against a register is among the gravest findings a restoration panel can face, and with the criminal record, sex offender registration and erasure all standing, the published record shows no pathway being pursued. The record contains no information about his employment, location or circumstances after the strike-off, and nothing on this page should be read as going beyond it.