Neary’s legacy - Prendiville decision is a surprise

SERIOUS questions are raised by the appointment of a doctor found guilty of professional misconduct to head up the country’s first National Clinical Skills Centre.

Professor Walter Prendiville, named yesterday for the new post at the Coombe Hospital, is one of three obstetricians who gave the green light to rogue obstetrician Dr Michael Neary at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda.

In 2003, Dr Neary was found guilty of professional misconduct in performing unnecessary hysterectomies and struck off the medical register. Following an investigation by the Medical Council’s fitness to practice committee, Professor Prendiville was found guilty of professional misconduct for clearing Dr Neary.

Two other consultant obstetricians involved in investigating the tragic affair, Dr Bernard Stuart and Dr John Murphy, were also found guilty of professional misconduct. Dr Murphy has since resigned as President of Royal College of Physicians of Ireland.

The finding against Professor Prendiville will come under the spotlight next month when the Medical Council faces a court challenge from the Coombe Hospital consultant. For its part, the Council intends to defend its position “vigorously.”

Besides blighting the lives of over 170 women, the Neary scandal is also hitting taxpayers as the State will have to pay €45 million compensation, ranging from sums of €60,000 to €340,000, to women whose wombs were wrongly removed.

Neither the Medical Missionaries of Mary, who ran the hospital, or the Medical Defence Union, contributed to the redress scheme.

It was entirely predictable that Professor Prendiville’s appointment would come in for strong criticism. Not surprisingly, objections have been raised by the women who were damaged by Dr Neary.

Describing the move as “surprising”, Patient Focus group, representing the obstetrician’s many victims, believe Dr Prendeville still has matters to address with the Medical Council as a result of his support for Dr Neary and also his “failure to comprehend the seriousness of the plight of women who suffered at the obstetrician’s hands.”

Widely regarded within the profession as having a brilliant mind, the exculpation of Dr Neary was fulsome to the point that the three consultants found he had no case to answer.

However, the women whose lives he had ruined, later argued that the three obstetricians who exonerated him should consider whether they were fit to continue teaching medical students.

This goes to the heart of the current controversy since Professor Prendiville will be heading up a centre with a major teaching role, developing individual clinical skills that will allow medical and surgical personnel to approach a live operation or clinical procedure with competence and experience.

Basically, it will provide facilities for professional groups to run training courses of clinical skills in obstetrics, neonatal paediatrics, midwifery, open and endoscopic gynaecological surgery and resuscitation skills.

The big question in the public mind concerns the wisdom of appointing a consultant who had cleared a surgeon of wrong doing when it later emerged he had ruined the lives of so many women.

Given the controversial nature of this issue, it has to be asked why Professor Prendiville was appointed to such a sensitive position in advance of an impending judicial review. Surely, the wise course would be to await the court’s ruling.