Medical scandals - Department failures must be probed

Legislation is urgently needed to protect patients and restore public confidence in the medical profession as a whole, following a series of medical scandals, such as the circumstances surrounding the tragic death of baby Roisín Ruddle, to the tainted blood scandal, the organ retention debacle, and the misconduct allegations made against the Drogheda obstetrician that were upheld by the Medical Council earlier this week.

The tainted blood scandal, which could ultimately claim the lives of up to 200 people, is probably the most serious scandal in the history of the State. It involved a frightening mixture of incompetence, bungling, and gross indifference, not to mention allegations of criminal behaviour. The notorious case of Dr Harold Shipman in Britain has added to the public anxiety here.

Public confidence has been so dented that even the most outrageous allegations are likely to receive credence, thereby not only further eroding public confidence but also feeding a compo frenzy and the financial hemorrhaging of the health sector that has been threatening both our medical and economic viability.

Many problems could have been detected much earlier, and an enormous amount of grief avoided. All too often the failures of incompetent doctors leave people scarred for life.

The high level of Caesarean hysterectomies performed at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda was first brought to attention in 1998, not by the doctor’s medical colleagues but by two brave student nurses.

An independent review of Dr Michael Neary’s behaviour conducted by members of the Institute of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in 1999 found that the high rate of Caesarean hysterectomies was “clinically unacceptable”, but they still recommended that he be allowed to practice under certain conditions.

It took until this week for the Medical Council to strike Dr Neary off the medical register for professional misconduct. He can appeal the decision to the High Court, where the appeal would be heard in public, unlike the earlier inquiry.

Commissioned by the Medical Council to inquire into its handling of the case, the former Attorney General Harry Whelahan was highly critical of the Medical Council itself. He found that some complaints made against Dr Neary had not been recorded, others had not been acknowledged and there were also long delays.

Of course, in fairness to the Medical Council it should be noted that it has been calling on successive Ministers for Health since 1989 to enact legislation that would give the council more power to act against doctors who have not retained the ability to perform their functions to a required standard, or who have not kept properly abreast of medical developments.

The Department of Health has, for more than a decade, repeatedly failed to draft promised legislation. Such legislation is urgent.

There should be a proper inquiry into what happened at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, and why it was allowed to continue for so long, but there should also be an inquiry into the Department of Health failures.