Disgraced obstetrician Neary was not a bad doctor: Harney

Disgraced obstetrician Michael Neary was not an evil man or a bad doctor despite needlessly removing scores of women’s wombs at Co Louth hospital, Tánaiste Mary Harney said tonight.

An inquiry into his practices at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital found he was a doctor who at critical points during his training was inadequately supervised.

The damning report stated: “He came to work in a unit which lacked leadership, pay review, audit or critical capacity and had a misplaced sense of confidence in his own ability.”

Speaking at the publication of the report, the Minister of Health expressed her deepest regret for the women involved and apologised to them and their families.

Ms Harney said she would meet them tomorrow to discuss the findings in the report, which said the rate of peripartum hysterectomies performed by Dr Neary was truly shocking.

“For any woman to have an unnecessary hysterectomy has a very traumatic experience they have to live with,” she said, adding that his victims had co-operated fully with the inquiry. “From their perspective, this confirms their worst fears.”

Ms Harney added: “This is a damning report and it is clear from the findings that many lessons need to be learned and changes made to ensure that such events do not happen again in Irish hospitals.”