Neary may be faced with sexual assault charges

MICHAEL NEARY, the disgraced doctor struck off by the Medical Council after being found to have needlessly removed the wombs of ten women, may face charges of sexual assault.

A team of detectives will investigate whether criminal charges will be brought against the former consultant gynaecologist at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda for more than 20 years up to early 1999.

Gardaí in Drogheda received a file from the Medical Council yesterday morning. Superintendent Fergus Doggett said he expected the probe to be 'fairly protracted'.

However, because the case is without precedent, he said he did not know yet what type of charges, if any, would be laid against the former doctor.

Specialists with experience investigating crimes of a sexual nature will be consulted, he said, which may suggest Mr Neary could face charges of sexual assault. Charges of assault causing grievous bodily harm are also a possibility.

The ten women found by the council to have been violated by Mr Neary will be interviewed, as will others who made complaints. The council is still investigating the complaints of six other women. Mr Neary, who still believes he acted correctly, will also be interviewed.

While the council, in coming to its conclusions, said it worked on a 'beyond reasonable doubt' basis, Supt Doggett cautioned that gardaí will have to 'start back at day one'.

Following a near five-year investigation, Neary was found guilty by his peers of carrying out unnecessary hysterectomies onof ten women he attended to during childbirth.

He committed profound errors of judgement and had an absence of insight into the pain caused to the women, a report concluded. The hospital was also accused of having no mechanisms to highlight or halt the activities of the former doctor.

The Government is expected to announce its own inquiry into the matter, while Labour health spokesperson Liz McManus called for an early meeting of the Oireachtas Health Committee to discuss Medical Council findings.

The Government has promised to publish an outline of the bill this autumn.

Department of Health officials said its implementation is a priority, though Ms McManus described the progress as 'deplorable'.

The bill to make the profession more open and accountable is unlikely to be introduced until late next year, though first mooted five years ago. It has been opposed by some within the medical profession.

The Medical Council, which supports the bill, said a statutory instrument is all that is needed for proper policing of doctors and the swift removal of any rogue elements.