One of the surgeons suspended from Cavan General Hospital over a year ago and whose suspension was lifted just before Christmas by the Tánaiste and Minister for Health, Ms Harney, was told to leave the hospital yesterday when he returned to work.
When Mr Liam Joyce turned up in the office of the hospital general manager around 9.30 a.m. he was told he should not have returned. He had already received a letter advising him not to return until further notice. He was asked to leave the hospital.
Mr Joyce and another surgeon, Mr Pawan Rajpal, were suspended by the former north eastern health board in August 2003 over "inter-personal difficulties".
They were in the midst of court proceedings attempting to have their suspensions overturned when Ms Harney lifted their suspensions in December.
Her decision was based on legal advice and related to the fact that the suspensions had gone on so long. Shortly after Ms Harney's decision was announced, solicitors for the the Health Service Executive North East region (formerly the north eastern health board) wrote to Mr Joyce's legal team stating he should not attend at Cavan General Hospital until further notice.
When contacted about his return to work yesterday, Mr Joyce said he was "most disappointed" by the manager's response.
"I turned up for duty but unfortunately I was asked to leave by the general manager and told not to return until further notice."
The HSE North East region refused to comment on the incident. However, it said it was "in the process of giving effect to the Tánaiste's decision".
The Irish Times has learned that the HSE has written to Mr Joyce and Mr Rajpal pointing out it wants them to agree to several conditions before returning.
These include agreeing to a locum surgeon being head of the hospital's surgery department for an interim period. The surgeons have also been asked to agree to weekly audit meetings being chaired by the hospital manager and a risk manager, and to the audit results being submitted to the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) every week.
The HSE also says it wants them to accept that the composition of theatre lists will be decided by the theatre manager who is understood to be a senior nurse.
The surgeons have also been asked to meet the president of the RCSI before returning.
Meanwhile, a case in which Mr Joyce is seeking damages arising out of his suspension is due to be heard in the High Court next month, and a Supreme Court appeal by Mr Rajpal in relation to his suspension is due to be heard in April. Cavan Hospital and its surgery unit have been in the spotlight since the death in February last year of nine-year-old Frances Sheridan three weeks after an appendix operation there. A post-mortem found she died from complications of recent surgery.