Psychiatrist Dr Digvijay Goel has had interim name suppression since he was found guilty of professional misconduct by the Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal in Invercargill nearly a year ago.
But his identity can now be revealed after a decision released yesterday resulted in him being ordered to pay $34,563 to cover costs of the investigation, on top of his earlier $3000 fine and censure.
Dr Goel has been a psychiatrist for nearly 60 years, including more than 30 years in the Armed Forces Medical Services in India, working for the World Health Organization and was a consultant psychiatrist at Southland Hospital since 2005.
He received the University of Otago Medical School ‘‘Excellence Award for Long Standing Contribution to Teaching’’ in 2021.
At the hearing, Dr Goel apologised to his former patients and their families and acknowledged his communications were not appropriate.
A former patient of the psychiatrist, who was not involved in these proceedings but made a separate complaint, was glad he could be named.
‘‘To know that I’m not the only person that has had issues and to actually be able to acknowledge that, that’s validating,’’ she said.
‘‘It’s great that people have been able to band together and ... make a stand.’’
The tribunal’s decision detailed Dr Goel’s inappropriate conduct.
One patient was admitted to hospital in October 2014 because he had experienced a psychotic and manic relapse.
Dr Goel was his psychiatrist, and he recorded his patient’s behaviour as ‘‘pathetic antics’’ and noted he told him to ‘‘cut this crap out’’, causing the patient to ‘‘shut up’’.
Other times, Dr Goel described the same patient as ‘‘even more unpleasant than he usually is’’, ‘‘obnoxious’’ and ‘‘trying to behave like a spoilt child throwing a tantrum’’.
Another patient who was under the care of Dr Goel between 2016 and 2019 was described by the psychiatrist as bursting into ‘‘rather melodramatic tears’’.
He later said the same patient had a ‘‘sense of entitlement and an aura of victimhood’’.
A third patient had been struggling with cannabis-induced psychotic disorder and had recently overdosed when Dr Goel said the patient’s ‘‘suicidal stunts’’ were a ‘‘consciously motivated attempt at emotional blackmail’’.
In a recording of an assessment of the patient, Dr Goel was asked if he was going to send the patient home to die.
The psychiatrist responded: ‘‘Well that’s up to him. I can’t help him. Because he takes cannabis’’.
The tribunal found this behaviour breached professional and ethical standards and amounted to professional misconduct.
Dr Goel had participated in an educational programme after an HDC investigation, which concluded in 2021.
He told the tribunal he had worked tirelessly in his field and framed his wrongdoings as ‘‘lapses’’ in judgement.
But the tribunal found his behaviour ‘‘was not just an instance of a practitioner losing his cool in difficult circumstances’’ and that his behaviour had a ‘‘negative impact on his patients’’.
