A surgeon appointed to Cavan General Hospital who has been in a long-running dispute with the Health Service Executive (HSE) arising from the suspension in 2003 of himself and a colleague has resolved one part of court proceedings against the HSE.
However, Dr Pawan K Rajpal is still pursuing an action against the HSE in which he is seeking an injunction restraining the executive from "hindering or interfering" with him attending to his duties at the hospital, restraining breach of his contract of employment and seeking aggravated damages for alleged breach of his constitutional right to work.
Yesterday Dr Rajpal sought other injunctions to restrain the HSE from appointing a permanent consultant surgeon to the hospital pending the trial of his action.
However, following talks between the parties, Pat Hanratty SC, for Dr Rajpal, of Oldtown, Cavan, told Ms Justice Mary Finlay Geoghegan that the matters had been resolved.
He asked for the motions to be struck out. The contents of the agreement between the parties were said to be confidential.
Mr Hanratty said yesterday's agreement had taken the urgency out of seeking an early hearing of Dr Rajpal's action. Roddy Horan SC, for the HSE, agreed.
The dispute between Dr Rajpal and his employers arises from what a Supreme Court judge described as "the very difficult relationship" which developed between him and another consultant surgeon, Dr William P Joyce, also attached to the Cavan hospital.
Dr Rajpal in his statement of claim alleged that between February and August 2003 the chief executive officer of the North Eastern Health Board purported to conduct an investigation into allegations made by Dr Joyce. This led to Dr Rajpal being suspended without pay.
In May 2004 another High Court judge, while upholding Dr Rajpal's challenge to the procedure adopted by the North Eastern Health Board in relation to setting up an inquiry in his case, had refused to set aside the suspension.
Dr Rajpal appealed that refusal, and a month ago the Supreme Court upheld his appeal. The suspension had in the interim been lifted by the Minister in December 2004.
Dr Rajpal claims that, notwithstanding the lifting of his suspension, and repeated requests on his behalf, the HSE has refused to permit him to resume employment at the hospital and alleges that the HSE has in reality continued his suspension.
The HSE has denied the allegations made by Dr Rajpal about the way it has dealt with him.