A consultant surgeon at Cavan General Hospital is seeking a High Court order restraining the HSE from continuing with an investigation into allegations against him. The action has been brought Dr Pawan Rajpal, a colorectal surgeon at the hospital for 25 years, and centres around allegations including that, in 2022 he assaulted a fellow employee at Cavan Hospital and a second matter relating to his involvement with the issuing of blank prescriptions.
Dr Rajpal, who strongly denies any wrongdoing in relation to both matters, claims that the investigation has been carried out in breach of his contractual rights and in breach of the HSE's policies and procedures.
He claims that the investigation will also include another allegation, namely that he inappropriately shared CCTV footage of an interaction he had with the person who has made the assault complaint to staff at Cavan General Hospital.
He says that should the investigation be allowed proceed, the implications for him could be grave, and his reputation could be damaged if any substantive findings are made against him. Dr Rajpal also fears that other steps may be taken to suspend him from his current role.
The HSE has rejected his requests that the investigation be halted and the judge granted the consultant permission to serve short notice of the injunction proceedings on the HSE. The matter will return before the court next week.
Meanwhile, Dr Rajpal from Oldtown in Cavan has worked at Cavan General Hospital, Monaghan General Hospital and Connolly Hospital in Dublin. Arising out of the allegations against him, he was suspended from his job in August 2022.
He brought judicial review proceedings challenging his suspension, which he claims was in breach of his contract of employment. Arsing, out of that action he was informed by the HSE that acknowledged he is entitled to return to work. However, his lawyers say that did not address all of the concerns raised by him in his proceedings and the action remains live before the court.
