Polish heart doctor, 65, banned from seeing NHS patients for the FIFTH time after failing a TENTH English-language exam – and labels health chiefs ‘un-humanitarian bureaucrats’
A Polish heart doctor working for the NHS has been suspended after failing a tenth attempt to pass English exams.
Amazingly, it is the fifth time in 18 years that Dr Tomasz Fryzlewicz, 65, has been punished for his poor command of the language.
Yet between suspensions he worked as a cardiac specialist at the Princess Alexandra Hospital, Essex, University College London Hospital, Royal Stoke University Hospital and Good Hope Hospital in Sutton Coldfield.
Despite being repeatedly reprimanded and branded a danger to patients, the doctor, who moved to Britain in 2006, claims he victim of a ‘witch hunt’.
Dr. Fryzlewicz was first reported to the General Medical Council (GMC) in 2014 for his language difficulties.
Dr. Tomasz Fryzlewicz, 65, has been banned from treating patients in Britain after failing a tenth attempt to pass language exams. it is the fourth time he has been suspended for poor English
In 2021, the cardiologist was branded a risk to patients who failed seven language tests and were fired for 10 months – but were allowed to return to work
He was assigned to report annually to the doctors’ regulator, and later insisted he watched TV and listened to the radio in an effort to learn better English.
Initially, Dr Fryzlewicz, from Plymouth, was allowed to work in hospitals under supervision.
But at his third employment tribunal in 2017, he was suspended for six months for failing to improve his English.
He was readmitted under supervision in 2018, but was given another 12-month ban in 2020.
In 2021, the cardiologist was dismissed for another ten months.
Dr. Fryzlewicz was allowed to return to work in 2022 on the condition that he successfully pass an English exam within the following 18 months.
But in 2023 he was banned again for 12 months and given a ninth chance to take them again after failing the tests twice in eight months.
At his last court appearance, Dr. Fryzlewicz was suspended for a year and given another chance to pass his exams.
He cannot be suspended due to language problems, but will be heard next year.
Some colleagues who worked with Dr. Fryzlewicz have claimed that they were not always confident that he understood what they were saying.
Dr. Simon Woldman, clinical director of specialist cardiology at Barts NHS Trust, told a tribunal in 2014: ‘When I spoke to Dr. Fryzlewicz, I was never really sure that he had understood the instructions he was given…
“When (he) spoke, you had to concentrate quite a bit to understand what he was saying.”
Previously, Fryzlewicz had condemned GMC investigators as “un-humanitarian bureaucrats” and also claimed he was the victim of “indirect discrimination” because of his nationality.
He said ‘revenge was sought’ because he was ‘a Polish Catholic consultant cardiologist who made money in British hospitals’.
A colleague told a tribunal in 2014: ‘When I spoke to Dr Fryzlewicz I was never really sure that he had understood the instructions he was given’
He refused to attend the most recent hearing and sent an email to health chiefs claiming he could not afford a lawyer to represent him.
In his message, Fryzlewicz wrote: ‘(The) accusation that my English language skills were insufficient to work in the NHS has been recognized as false by many medical consultants who have worked with me in many hospitals.
“All the documents proving this have been shown by me many times to (the medical labor court body) the MPTS.”
Dr. Fryzlewicz had initially been discharged from the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow and University College London Hospital due to concerns about his language skills.
Counsel for the GMC, Ms Emma Gilsenan, said at the hearing: ‘Dr Fryzlewicz’s attitude towards the regulator and the requirement that he achieve the minimum standard of English language to practice medicine in Britain , is worrying.
“It appears from his communications that he is more focused on what he believes is political and religious persecution by the GMC than on addressing the concerns raised in this case.
‘There has been no progress since the case was last reviewed in 2023 and there has been no evidence of insight and recovery.
‘The demands placed on him are no different to those of other doctors, despite him feeling he is being persecuted by the GMC.’
Counsel for the GMC, Ms Emma Gilsenan, said at the hearing: ‘Dr Fryzlewicz’s attitude towards the regulator and the requirement that he achieve the minimum standard of English language to practice medicine in Britain , is worrying.
Dr. Fryzlewicz had initially been discharged from the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow and University College London Hospital due to concerns about his language skills
MPTS Chairman Sean Kyne said: ‘There is no evidence before the Tribunal that Dr. Fryzlewicz has a good command of the English language, in the form of satisfactory test scores.
‘The Tribunal was disappointed that Dr. Fryzlewicz did not provide any evidence to demonstrate what he had done to address the issues that gave rise to the concerns in this case.
“To make progress and move forward positively, he will need to shift his focus to the present and his future opportunities to practice.”
Previously, only doctors from outside the EU could have their language skills tested by the GMC.
This was revised following the case of a Nigerian-born German doctor who injected a patient with a lethal dose of morphine, partly because of his poor English during his first shift as a locum doctor in 2008.