Cian O’Carroll, the solicitor for Ruth Morrissey, has described comments by Dr Peter McKenna of the HSE about the possibility of the withdrawal of screening programmes, as “vindictive.”

Salary and the prestige attached to the job are greater attractions for male medical students considering a career in surgery than for women, whose choices are significantly more influenced by part-time work, parental leave and working hours.

More than 50% of medical graduates are female but only 7% of consultant surgeons are women, a report has found.