‘There is nothing worse than waking up and seeing emptiness beside you’

THE wife of a former garda superintendent whose chances of surviving cancer were significantly reduced by the actions of his doctor has spoken for the first time about the trauma of his illness, his death and their battle to extract the truth from their GP.

Speaking exclusively to the Irish Examiner on the first anniversary of Martin Dorney’s death, Paula Dorney, herself a former garda, said the past year has been one of heartbreak for her and her three children.

“I used to do shift work and I’d be looking forward to going out the door to work at 4pm and he’d be the one around for the bedtimes, bathtimes, homework, supper time. On holidays, he’d be the one entertaining the kids while I sunbathed. The kids, especially Ciarán my youngest, are bereft without him. He worshipped his dad.”

Mrs Dorney said she had been robbed of her life companion and the children had been robbed of a grandfather for their children.

“My own father was a lovely granddad and Martin would have been the same. Those are the kind of things you think of. As time goes on, the finality of it hits you. There is nothing worse than waking up and seeing emptiness beside you. I have piles of pillows on my bed now and sometimes I pretend he’s still there.”

Supt Dorney, who lived in Waterfall, Ballinora, Co Cork, passed away on January 7, 2011, two days after his 51st birthday and four months after the Medical Council suspended his GP, Dr Patrick Lee, from practising for six months.

Dr Lee, of Ballincollig, Co Cork, was found guilty by the Medical Council of professional misconduct arising out of his failure to act on a recommendation from specialists that Supt Dorney be sent for further surgery following the removal of a mole on his leg in 2003.

Dr Lee, in his late 40s, admitted he had only skim-read the report and missed the recommendation about surgery — which he did not see until 2009, after Supt Dorney had been diagnosed with secondary skin cancer.

He also admitted altering the original biopsy report in an attempt to conceal his error.

Supt Dorney had been central to a number of high-profile murder investigations in Cork, including the investigation into the disappearance and killing of Midleton schoolboy Robert Holohan in 2005, and the probe into the disappearance and murder of Sheola Keaney, who was murdered by her ex-boyfriend Thomas Kennedy in 2006.

Mrs Dorney praised the Medical Council for the expeditious manner in which it handled the complaint against Dr Lee. She said members of the public who had concerns about doctors should not be afraid to approach the council.

“People think you need loads of money. A woman who attended our hearing and who was considering making her own complaint asked, ‘how much is this costing?’ It cost us nothing. We were just witnesses for the Medical Council and they give you legal representation.”

The council’s first statistical report published in 2011 shows an increase from 295 complaints received in 2009 to 361 in 2010. Chief executive Caroline Spillane said while it did not have all the data compiled for 2011, indications were that the upward trend was set to continue.

The area of greatest concern is among doctors from other EU countries, as under existing law they are exempt from clinical competency and language proficiency tests.