Emergency surgery on call despite surgeons’ suspension
But all elective surgery has been cancelled for the foreseeable future with the result that 17 patients due to be admitted for operations this week have been told to remain at home.
The North Eastern Health Board said last night it was in negotiations to try to arrange for locums to take up the duties of the two suspended surgeons.
One option for the health board is moving the two consultant surgeons based at neighbouring Monaghan General Hospital to Cavan until the situation is resolved.
Monaghan General was taken off call last year in a scaling down of services at the hospital so only routine surgical procedures are carried out there while all emergencies are referred to Cavan.
A spokeswoman for the health board said the surgical unit was being run by the one remaining consultant and five junior doctors.
These junior doctors took up duty at the hospital in the last two months after the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland (RCSI) withdrew recognition from the five posts as training posts for medical students.
The RCSI had deemed that “inter-personal problems at the level of consultant surgeon in the unit were creating an environment not conducive to training”. The trainee posts were filled in recent weeks by five fully registered non-consultant hospital doctors.
Meanwhile, the Department of Health has yet to appoint a committee to inquire into the circumstances that led to the consultants being suspended.
A department spokesman said a formal request had only been made by the health board for an inquiry late on Monday evening, the day the suspensions were announced. He added the minister had formally approved the inquiry.
The two surgeons, Dr William Joyce and Dr Pawan Rajpal, were suspended without pay on Monday due to what the board said was interpersonal issues. They must remain on suspension until the inquiry delivers its findings.
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