The president of the High Court has expressed concern at how a doctor with “such sub-standard medical knowledge” — including mistaking an ankle for an elbow in an X-ray — could have been employed in three different hospitals.

A doctor found guilty of professional misconduct has said his treatment during a public inquiry “will be fully paid for at an extremely bloody price for the people involved worldwide,” the High Court heard.

Staff behaviour at the Midland Regional Hospital Portlaoise fell well short of what would be reasonable from a patient safety point of view, according to the Department of Health’s chief medical officer, Dr Tony Holohan.

The Minister for Health Mary Harney will face a 'no confidence' vote over the crisis in cancer services as a fifth inquiry into failings in patient care began tonight.