A hospital doctor in Wales has been suspended for fraudulently prescribing highly addictive drugs to a close relative for a number of years. Dr. Marta Kasztelewicz provided opioid painkiller codeine and diazepam, a potent anti-anxiety medication, to someone with whom she had a personal relationship. The misconduct incidents occurred at both Neath Port Talbot Hospital and Swansea’s Singleton Hospital.
Dr. Kasztelewicz, who qualified from a German medical school in 2006 and worked as a locum registrar at Singleton Hospital, issued over 60 private prescriptions to the patient between August 2015 and December 2019. The prescriptions were deemed excessive in quantity, duration, and frequency by a panel chairwoman, Gillian Temple-Bone. Additionally, the doctor administered treatment to the patient at Singleton’s admissions unit in September 2019 without authorization.
Concerns about Dr. Kasztelewicz’s conduct surfaced in 2020, leading to her acceptance of a police caution in the following year for supplying fraudulent private prescriptions, counterfeiting, and computer misuse at Neath Port Talbot Hospital. The panel discovered that she continued prescribing on behalf of Singleton Hospital even after leaving and did not disclose her relationship with the patient, prioritizing their treatment over other waiting patients.
After a five-month suspension for serious misconduct, Dr. Kasztelewicz expressed remorse and understanding of her actions during a hearing before the panel. She acknowledged the inappropriate nature of her relationship with the patient and outlined plans for further professional development and work shadowing before returning to practice, initially at St Mary’s Hospital in London.
Despite revoking the suspension, the panel required the doctor to undergo supervised work shadowing to allow for reflection before resuming work, with intentions to train as a general practitioner in the future. Dr. Kasztelewicz’s case highlights the importance of maintaining professional boundaries and ethical practices within the healthcare system to ensure patient safety and well-being.