Hot-headed NHS radiologist, 62, has been suspended after calling an Asian colleague ‘you yellow people’ and challenging him to a fistfight during a staff review meeting

A hot-headed NHS hospital radiologist has been suspended after calling a senior Asian colleague ‘you yellow people’ and challenging him to a fistfight during a staff review meeting.

Dr. Herwig Thibaut, 62, also referred to another Asian colleague as “some PI doctor” in an earlier conversation with his boss at North Tees University Hospital in Stockton-On-Tees, County Durham, a medical tribunal heard .

The “yellow people” incident occurred in a consultant’s office while he was conducting clinical radiologist Thibault’s less-than-stellar assessment on December 23, 2021.

After being questioned about his workplace performance, Thibaut was “frowning” and “red in the face” as he approached the consultant in his office, before raising his hands, which were “clenched into fists.”

“That’s what you yellow people are like,” shouted Thibaut, from Darlington, County Durham, at the consultant known as Dr. c.

Thibaut then asked Doctor C, “Do you want to fight me?”

Dr. C then threatened to call security, to which Thibaut replied: “Go ahead, call security.”

The terrified doctor tried to call for help from his office phone, but Thibaut pressed the receiver twice to cancel the call and demanded the assessment continue.

Dr. C said he felt ‘physically threatened’ and was so shaken by the incident that he had to take several months off work.

An internal investigation revealed that Belgian Thibaut had called another Asian colleague ‘some p**i doctor’ five months earlier.

He later blamed his behavior on stress and a depressive state, claiming he was the victim of “injustice.” He denied being racist.

At the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service, Thibaut, who has been a doctor for 38 years, was found guilty of serious professional misconduct and was suspended from medical practice for three months.

In 2010, he was fired from another hospital for yelling at a male consultant who questioned his work, doorbelled an office and unleashed “physical and verbal abuse” on staff.

The assessment took place at 1:30 PM on December 23, 2021 after Dr. C, a consultant radiologist, had arranged a meeting with Thibaut to discuss his Continuing Professional Development (CPD) at work.

In a statement, Dr. C: ‘When asked about his CPD and why he hadn’t done more, the topic seemed to be the trigger for his behavior as it all started to go downhill from there. Among other things, he accused me of not understanding how important his work was and of not understanding him and the pressures of Covid. His presentation was confrontational, angry, personal and hateful.

‘Dr. Thibaut was clearly agitated and angry, both in attitude and tone. His voice became louder and angrier, his face frowned more aggressively, he became red in the face and his speech was also much faster.

“He had his shoulders hunched forward and his hands clenched into fists as he took steps toward me. He became louder and more and more menacing.’

Dr. C urged Thibaut to leave three times and said he would call security, but Thibaut replied, “Then go ahead, call security.”

When Dr. C stood up to pick up the phone, Thibaut stood opposite him, clenched fists in the air and said, “Do you want to fight me?”

Dr. C tried to call security twice, but both times Thibaut canceled the call.

He added, “Dr. Thibaut told me that I was unsympathetic and said: “that’s how you yellow people are”.

“I challenged Dr. Thibaut and told him that he should not make such racist statements, but Dr. Thibaut said he was not a racist. I informed Dr. Thibaut that I would not proceed with the assessment because I would not tolerate racist abuse.

‘I felt physically threatened and repeated ‘please leave my office’ but he repeatedly shouted ‘what about my assessment?’ ‘

Thibaut then insisted that Dr. C. would continue the meeting despite being told to leave ten times. In the end he left without any apology.

In his testimony, Thibaut said the start of the review “went smoothly” but the situation deteriorated when Dr C accused him of putting an “insufficient number of hours” on his CPD. He told the hearing in Manchester: ‘I tried to get Dr. C to explain that I was struggling to balance demands and that the workload was increasing, especially the backlog caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

‘It meant I was prioritizing clinical work and not setting aside sufficient time to complete the full CPD requirement. ‘I felt upset. Dr. C did not support me or empathize with my position. Dr. C compared my CPD with that of other colleagues, which I thought was unfair. I felt singled out, stressed and humiliated.

‘I had no idea why Dr C felt the need to call security and I felt it was quite hurtful for him to do so as it felt like I was being treated like a criminal. During the assessment I was pushed to my limits and I was irritated and frustrated. Dr. C tried to baffle me with statistics and portray me as an outlier who performed less well than others.’

He accepted he said the words “that’s how you yellow people are” but insisted he “deeply regretted” it and said it was uttered “in the heat of the moment”. When told that canceling the call was an aggressive act, Thibaut responded, “I wouldn’t use the word aggressive. Maybe naughty.’

GMC counsel Chloe Fordham told the hearing: “Dr Thibaut’s actions were threatening and caused Dr C to fear for his safety. They arranged for him to take several months off work. Dr. Thibaut has shown that he cannot cope with the tensions that his role entails. He seems to have no significant insight into the effect on others of the things he says, and he always seems surprised that people are upset by his behavior.”

For Thibaut, Mr Ranald Davidson said his client was ordered to work in ‘isolation’ from home after the incidents and resigned from the North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust. He added: “The circumstances of Dr. Thibaut’s misconduct caused him to experience workplace stress in 2021, which stemmed from a perception of injustice.

‘He had the impression that his division of labor was different from that of his colleagues, and the resulting sense of injustice was exacerbated by Dr. C. compared his CPD with others during the assessment interview.

“While Dr. Thibaut’s behavior was clearly inappropriate, he is not a racist and his actions and comments were not the result of an underlying racist motivation. He has apologized and publicly acknowledged that his racist comments were unacceptable.”

MPTS chairman Stephen Killen said: ‘Dr Thibaut’s actions were aggressive, intimidating and frightening to Dr C. Such behavior is unacceptable in any workplace. The Tribunal was very concerned about his racist comments and his aggressive and intimidating actions towards Dr. C, which clearly appeared to have had a significant and damaging impact on him.

“These actions represented behavior that is completely unacceptable in the workplace.”

In 2011, Thibaut took County Durham and Darlington NHS Trust to an employment tribunal after being bullied by bosses. He said he was taking medication for depression, claiming he was provoked and that his condition affected his mood. His unfair dismissal claim was rejected.