A doctor working for the NHS has been suspended for a sixth time after colleagues warned her inability to speak English put her patients at risk.
Dr Monika Matko trained in Hungary before qualifying in 2003.
In 2019, concerns about her communication skills were raised whilst she was working at the University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust.
Since then, Dr Matko has been suspended multiple times.
Under current regulations, doctors cannot be struck off solely because of a lack of language skills – but they can be suspended it they are believed to be putting the public at risk.
Earlier this year, it was revealed that nearly 10 per cent of people referred to the NHS require translators because they cannot speak English.
Concerns about her communication skills were raised whilst she was working at the University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust
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Following a review by the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) last week, Dr Matko has been banned indefinitely from practising.
The tribunal was told that the doctor had made “significant errors” while documenting care for a diabetes patient.
This sparked concern amongst her colleagues, who questioned her levels of written and spoken English.
Just months ago, it emerged that almost 150,000 migrants cannot speak English at all.
According to an email submitted as evidence, “the constant need for cross-checking everything that she does is having a toll on the rest of the team”.
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PICTURED: Queen’s Hospital Burton, under the trust at which Dr Matko worked. Colleagues raised concerns about Dr Matko’s levels of English
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Dr Matko was initially suspended for six months after she failed to meet the required standards for listening, reading, and writing in an English test she was ordered to take by the General Medical Council (GMC).
A review was scheduled – however, at a later hearing, it emerged she had failed to achieve the necessary marks in listening, reading, writing and speaking in another test.
She was then handed a 12-month suspension.
Her continued inability to meet standards meant she was suspended three more times at annual tribunals, each time for 12 months.
The most recent tribunal on August 29 heard there was still “no objective evidence” to suggest Dr Matko’s English had improved enough for it to be safe for her to practice medicine in the UK.
Gurdit Singh, representing the GMC, acknowledged the positive references the doctor had received from recent roles, but added there was “no specific reference” to her language abilities.
Tribunal Chair Sean Ell said: “There continues to be a lack of evidence that Dr Matko now has the necessary knowledge of English.”
He confirmed she had therefore been suspended indefinitely as “little progress” had been made since the last review.