Doctor suspended for sixth time

A doctor who treated patients at the University Derby and Burton NHS Trust has been suspended for a sixth time because she struggles with the English language.

Dr Monika Matko has now been suspended indefinitely after it was found she failed to have the necessary knowledge of English, which posed a risk to patients.

Dr Matko, who graduated as a doctor in Hungary in 2003, was working at the hospital trust in 2019 when colleagues raised concerns.

In 2021, tribunal documents said colleagues had raised serious concerns about her language and written skills while she was working as a junior clinical fellow in medicine at Queen’s Hospital in Burton.

An email by a colleague, given as evidence to a tribunal, claimed Dr Matko made “significant errors” with her documentation when providing care for a diabetes patient.

The email later adds: “The constant need for cross-checking everything that she does is having a toll on the rest of the team.”

The General Medical Council (GMC) directed her to undergo an English language test, on which she failed to achieve the required scores for listening, reading and writing.

Following this, she was suspended for six months, with a review to take place to assess whether things had changed.

This later hearing review revealed that she again failed to achieve the required scores in listening, reading, writing, and speaking in another test, which resulted in her receiving a 12-month suspension.

Three more annual tribunals have been held since, each resulting in a 12-month suspension due to her continued impairment. Within that time, the results of more English tests have not met the required scores for the GMC’s satisfaction.  

A further Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) review hearing was held on Friday (August 29th) to determine whether Dr Matko could return to the medical profession.  

Tribunals of this nature are to protect, promote and maintain health, safety and well-being of the public and maintain public confidence in the medical profession. 

But the tribunal hearing heard how there was “no objective” evidence received that proved Dr Matko had a good command of the English language. 

Outlining the case and latest situation, Gurdit Singh – representing GMC – told the tribunal that positive references were received about Dr Matko’s latest working roles – but there was “no specific reference” on her command of the English language.

Prior to the tribunal Dr Matko, who was not present at the hearing, listed a number of courses she was doing to help improve her English skills but no certificates were provided.

Chair of the tribunal Sean Ell concluded that Dr Matko’s fitness to practise remains impaired due to her lack of knowledge of the English language. Mr Ell said Dr Matko would be suspended indefinitely as a result.

Mr Singh said an indefinite suspension was appropriate as “little progress” had been made since the last review a year ago, and there was uncertainty over when a future test would be taken.

Tribunal regulations dictate a sanction for removing/erasing the doctor’s registration cannot be made in any case of a language barrier issue.