'No objective evidence that doctor has good command of English'

FELLOW STAFF SAID THEY HAD TO CONTINUALLY CROSS-CHECK EVERYTHING SHE DID

- By NIGEL SLATER Local democracy reporter

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.