Neary patients seek to widen group

THE group representing former patients of disgraced obstetrician Dr Michael Neary has requested an extension of the government’s redress scheme to all women on whom he performed unwarranted medical procedures.

Patient Focus wrote to Health Minister Mary Harney last month asking that the Lourdes Hospital Redress Scheme be extended to cover any woman whom expert medical opinion deemed to have undergone an inappropriate procedure, or had suffered an adverse outcome, in the Maternity Unit at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital while under the care of Dr Michael Neary, as a result of an unwarranted medical procedure.

The request was on foot of a report compiled by two British doctors, Dr Richard Porter and Dr Roger Clements, who examined about 60 former Neary patients last August, approximately half of whom were found to have undergone unwarranted medical procedures.

Jim Reilly of Patient Focus said while the majority of these women are covered by the redress scheme, a small number are not, either because they did not have wombs unnecessarily removed in the course of having a baby or did not have ovaries unnecessarily removed under the age of 40 (the cut-off age for redress).

“There are a couple of other cases not covered by the scheme, for example, a woman with endometriosis whose womb was removed and the removal was unwarranted according to the Porter/Clements report.”

Patient Focus has requested an urgent meeting with the head of the State Claims Agency and Ms Harney “to discuss the resolution of these matters”.

If the issues cannot be resolved, Patient Focus has requested the minister agree to include a list of persons in the redress scheme who had inappropriate medical care.

The rate of caesarean hysterectomies at the Lourdes Hospital for the 25-year period Dr Neary worked there was one for every 37 caesarean sections, compared with a rate in other hospitals of one per 300. He was struck off the medical register in 2003.

Under the redress scheme patients can claim compensation ranging between €60,000 and €380,000.

A statement from the Department of Health said the issues raised by Patient Focus “were currently being examined”.