Inquiry team believes missing hysterectomy records were stolen
“We believe that the charts were unlawfully removed from the hospital with the objective of protecting those involved in the hysterectomies or in protecting the reputation of the hospital,” the report’s author concluded.
“Further corroboration of deliberate systematic removal of all records of certain hysterectomies is substantiated by the fact that in 40 of the 44 cases, the birth registers are also missing” she added.
The inquiry team believes it is unlikely that one person acting alone took the documentation and that the culprits were “working within the hospital” and had a good knowledge of the recording systems.
They claim the likely suspects would have ready access to the files and it would not have aroused suspicion if they were seen leafing through them or even possibly removing them openly.
The long-awaited report by Judge Maureen Harding Clark, published yesterday, reveals that 188 peripartum hysterectomies were carried out at the hospital between 1974 and 1988, and 129 were carried out by former Drogheda obstetrician Dr Michael Neary.
Most obstetricians carry out fewer than 10 of these procedures in their careers.
Scores of hospital records could not be located by the inquiry team, while others had been tampered with:
* The pre-1991 maternity theatre register is missing. This is a primary source of information and obstetric theatre activity.
* The 1991-2004 maternity theatre register was also subject to “alarming alterations” with “deliberate attempts to prevent a full determination of the numbers of peripartum hysterectomies.”
* A gynaecology theatre register also disappeared from August to October.
* Forty birth registers were also missing and these registers would have recorded 78 peripartum hysterectomies.
There was also outrage within the hospital when it emerged that an unidentified “colleague” of Dr Neary’s had photocopied the 1991 maternity register for Dr Neary but hadn’t informed any of the relevant management.
Expert analysis revealed that the book had been photocopied by two women and one was wearing nail varnish, making it unlikely that it was a midwife or surgical nurse.
In her report, Judge Maureen Harding Clark concluded that the removal of patient details meant that many details of the theatre nurses, midwives and doctors who assisted in various operations could not be traced.
“For the women who have sought their charts in vain, this is a huge disappointment ... They will never know precisely what happened to them and what caused the operating surgeon to proceed to hysterectomy,” she said.
“They will never be able to have an expert review of their file to advise whether the operation was justified or not.”
:
:
“I found it very difficult to understand how women of such obvious intelligence, determination and strength allowed the maternity unit to operate in isolation from normal standards and without any outside comparisons or audit.”
:
“They were Catholic nurses who were well trained, knew their place, trusted the consultants and suspended their critical or questioning faculties.”
:
Some had problems with his manner and his volatile and erratic moods and gave him a wide berth. There was a feeling that one could never win an argument with Dr Neary.
:
They all used the term a “safe pair of hands” to describe Dr Neary. He never lost a patient, his patients recovered well from his surgery, and they enjoyed working with him. He was a dry worker - meaning he did not tolerate much bleeding.
:
“No one had sought their views.”
:
Only one former patient interviewed by the inquiry admitted to a consent hysterectomy, and the patient charts in two cases contained written consents.
:
“It was next to impossible to establish where exactly the power in this hospital lay ... The managers felt that the consultants, especially the older consultants, ran the hospital.”
:
“None of the obstetricians who worked in the Lourdes Maternity Unit were aware that there was a culture of early resort to hysterectomy and were unaware of their own unit’s numbers.”
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
