Doctor Faces new Sexual Assault Charge in New Brunswick, Adding to Nova Scotia Allegations
Edmundston, N.B. – Dr. Sanjeev Sirpal is now facing a sexual assault charge in Edmundston, New Brunswick, in addition to previously laid charges in Nova Scotia, according to RCMP. Teh new charge relates to an alleged incident that occurred on Sept. 14, 2023.
Sirpal was previously charged with sexually assaulting a patient at the Amherst, N.S., emergency room in August. Following that charge, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of New Brunswick suspended his license to practice in the province.
Details surrounding the New Brunswick allegation remain scarce as health authorities are declining to comment. Vitalité Health Network, in a statement released Friday, reiterated that Sirpal is “no longer employed by the network” but did not address the new charge, whether Sirpal was on duty at the time of the alleged incident, or if it involved a patient.
Horizon Health Network, which operates Sackville Memorial Hospital, stated Sirpal worked “intermittently as a locum” with the network but “no longer has active privileges.” The health authority did not specify where or when he worked within its facilities. The new Brunswick Health Department also declined to comment.
This latest growth comes amidst a growing pattern of scrutiny surrounding Sirpal’s medical practise. In March, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of New Brunswick imposed conditions on his licence – unrelated to the Nova Scotia allegation – requiring a chaperone be present during any “intimate examinations” of a patient’s sexual organs or breasts, irrespective of gender. He was also required to document the reason for the examination and the chaperone’s identity in the patient’s chart.
The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Nova Scotia previously stated Sirpal does not currently hold a licence to practise in that province. However, he had worked in New Brunswick since 2022 and applied in 2023 to practise in Nova Scotia through the Atlantic Registry.
Further examination reveals Sirpal’s licence to practise in Quebec was revoked in October 2022. The Quebec College of Physicians found he had lied about his academic background when obtaining his licence in 2019, specifically omitting facts about his dismissal from the University of Miami in 2008 due to academic misconduct. The Quebec college had been investigating a 2020 allegation that Sirpal conducted vaginal and breast exams on a Montreal woman with a head injury – which he denied.
Sirpal appealed the Quebec licence revocation, but the appeal was rejected on Sept. 11.
