A hot-headed NHS hospital radiologist has been suspended after he referred to a senior Asian colleague as ‘you yellow people’ and challenged him to a fist fight during a staff appraisal meeting.
Dr Herwig Thibaut, 62, also referred to another Asian colleague as ‘some p**i doctor’ in an earlier conversation with his boss at University Hospital of North Tees in Stockton-On-Tees, County Durham, a medical tribunal heard.
The ‘yellow people’ incident happened in a consultant’s office as he conducted the less-than-stellar appraisal of consultant clinical radiologist Thibault on December 23, 2021.
After being questioned on his workplace performance, Thibaut was ‘scowling’ and ‘red in the face’ as he stepped towards the consultant in his office, then raised his hands which were ‘balled into fists’.
‘That’s what you yellow people are like,’ Thibaut, from Darlington, County Durham shouted at the consultant, known as Dr C.
NHS radiologist Dr Herwig Thibaut, 62, was suspended after he referred to a senior Asian colleague as ‘you yellow people’ and challenged him to a fist fight during an appraisal
Dr Thibaut also referred to another Asian colleague as ‘some p**i doctor’ in an earlier conversation with his boss at University Hospital of North Tees in Stockton-On-Tees, County Durham
Thibaut then asked Dr C: ‘Do you want to fight me?’
Dr C then threatened to call security, to which Thibaut responded: ‘Go on then, call security.’
The terrified doctor tried to make calls for help on his office phone but Thibaut twice pressed down the receiver to cancel them and demanded the appraisal continue.
Dr C said he felt ‘physically threatened’ and was so shocked about the incident he had to take several months off work.
During an internal investigation it emerged Belgian-national Thibaut had five months earlier referred to another Asian colleague as ‘some p**i doctor’
He later blamed his behaviour on stress and a depressive condition, 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 practise for three months.
In 2010 he was fired from another hospital for bellowing at a male consultant who challenged his work, booting a doorstop across an office and unleashing ‘physical and verbal abuse’ at staff.
The appraisal took place at 1.30pm on December 23, 2021 after Dr C a consultant radiologist had arranged the meeting with Thibaut to discuss his ‘Continuing Professional Development’ (CPD) at work.
In a statement Dr C said: ‘When he was asked about his CPD and why he had not done more, the topic seemed to be the trigger for his behaviour as it all started to go downhill from there. He accused me of, among other things, not understanding how important his work was and not understanding him or the pressures of Covid. His presentation was confrontational, angry, personal and spiteful.
‘Dr Thibaut was obviously agitated and angry, both in stance and tone of voice. His voice was becoming louder and angrier, his face was scowling more aggressively, he was becoming red in the face, and his speech was also much quicker.
‘He had his shoulders hunched forward and his hands balled into fists, all while taking steps towards me. He became louder and increasingly threatening.’
Dr C urged Thibaut to leave three times, saying he would call security but Thibaut replied ‘go on then, call security’.
Then, as Dr C stood up to get the telephone, Thibaut squared up to him, and raised up his balled fists, saying ‘do you want to fight me?’
Dr C attempted to call security twice, but on both occasions Thibaut cancelled the call.
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 practise for three months
Thibaut later blamed his behaviour on stress and a depressive condition, claiming he was the victim of ‘injustice’. He denied being racist
He added: ‘Dr Thibaut told me I was being unsympathetic and said: “that is what you yellow people are like”.
‘I challenged Dr Thibaut, telling him he cannot use racist statements like that but Dr Thibaut said he was not a racist. I informed Dr Thibaut I would not continue with the appraisal as I would not tolerate racist abuse.
‘I felt physically threatened and repeated “please leave my office” but he repeatedly shouted “what about my appraisal?” ‘
Thibaut then insisted Dr C continue with the meeting despite being told to leave on ten occasions. He eventually left without making any apology.
In his evidence Thibaut said the beginning of the appraisal ‘ran smoothly’, but it deteriorated when Dr C accused him putting on an ‘insufficient number of hours’ on his CPD. He told the Manchester hearing: ‘I tried to explain to Dr C that I was struggling to balance the requirements and that wider work pressures, in particular the backlog caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
‘It meant I prioritised clinical work and had not set aside sufficient time to complete the full CPD requirement. ‘I felt upset Dr C was not supportive and did not empathise with my position. Dr C compared my CPD to that completed by other colleagues, which I felt was unfair. I felt singled out, stressed and humiliated.
‘I had no idea why Dr C felt the need to call security and I found it quite hurtful for him to do so as it like I was being treated as a criminal. I was pushed to the limit in the course of the appraisal and I was irritated and frustrated. Dr C was trying to baffle me with statistics and to portray me as an outlier who was performing less well than others.’
He accepted he said the words ‘that’s what you yellow people are like’ but insisted he ‘deeply regretted’ it and said it was uttered ‘in the heat of the moment’. When told that cancelling the call was an aggressive act, Thibaut responded: ‘I wouldn’t use the word aggressive. Perhaps mischievous.’
Counsel for the GMC Chloe Fordham told the hearing: ‘Dr Thibaut’s actions had been threatening and caused Dr C to fear for his safety. They caused him to take several months off work. Dr Thibaut has shown that he is not able to cope with the stresses of his role. He does not seem to have significant insight into the effect on others of things he says, and he always seems surprised that people are upset by his behaviour.’
For Thibaut, Mr Ranald Davidson said his client had been condemned to work at home in ‘isolation’ following the incidents and has resigned from the North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust. He added: ‘The circumstances of Dr Thibaut’s misconduct involved him experiencing workplace stress in 2021, which derived from a perception of injustice.
‘He perceived his work allocation to be different to that of his colleagues, and his resulting sense of injustice was compounded by Dr C’s comparison of his CPD with others during the appraisal meeting.
‘While Dr Thibaut’s behaviour was clearly inappropriate, he is not a racist and his actions and comments were not the result of an underlying racist motivation. He has apologised and openly acknowledged that his racist comments were unacceptable.’
MPTS chairman Mr Stephen Killen said: ‘Dr Thibaut’s actions were aggressive, intimidating and frightening to Dr C. Such behaviour is unacceptable in any workplace. The Tribunal was very concerned by his racist comments and his aggressive and intimidating actions toward Dr C, which clearly appeared to have had a significant and detrimental impact upon him.
‘Those actions represented behaviour which is completely unacceptable in the workplace.’
In 2011 Thibaut took County Durham and Darlington NHS Trust to an employment tribunal alleging bosses were bullying him. He said was taking medication for depression, claims he was provoked and his condition affected his temper. His unfair dismissal claim was thrown out.
Source: Mail Online
