Women to boycott inquiry 'whitewash'

WOMEN who claimed they had their wombs removed unnecessarily are to boycott the State inquiry, claming it will be a whitewash.

The Patient Focus group, which represents 130 women, said the inquiry into operations carried out by Dr Michael Neary at Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda would have no power to summon witnesses or documents.

"An inquiry without compellability will be a whitewash. It is not worth the pain for the women involved," said chairwoman Sheila O'Connor.

The inquiry was announced last month and will be headed by a senior judge, Maureen Harding-Clarke.

Dr Neary, formerly of Lourdes Hospital, was struck off the register of medical practitioners last year, after the Medical Council found him guilty of misconduct in relation to 10 patients.

He performed over 20 times the number of caesarean hysterectomies of some of the other major Dublin maternity hospitals in the 1990s.

The non-statutory inquiry will examine if other staff at the hospital noticed this and to recommend a system to prevent future reoccurrences.

But Patient Focus said a "toothless" inquiry which did not discover the truth would endanger every child-bearing woman in the country.

"Micheál Martin does not seem to be taking on board the full seriousness of this. He and the Department of Health have been unbelievably unhelpful and we are very disappointed with him," said Sheila O'Connor.

She said many members of Patient Focus would be excluded from the inquiry because it will be confined to caesarean hysterectomies carried out by Dr Neary in the 1990s. Patient Focus was unable to attend a meeting arranged at short notice last week by Mr Martin.

But the Department of Health said Mr Martin was still willing to meet with the group to discuss their concerns.

"He is surprised and disappointed. He would be very anxious for the group to be part of the process," said a spokeswoman.

Meanwhile, the State is facing multi-million euro compensation claims from patients of Dr Neary after the refusal of the doctor's defence body, the Medical Defence Union, to provide him with indemnity cover.