Michael Neary
Encyclopedia
Michael Neary is a retired Irish consultant obstetrician/gynecologist. He gained notoriety when it was discovered that he had performed what was considered an inordinate number of caesarian hysterectomies
during his time at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital
in Drogheda
, County Louth
. He was suspended by the Irish Medical Council in 1999 pending their investigations, and then struck off the Register of Medical Practitioners in 2003. As a result of the Medical Council's investigation, which discovered a number of alarming aspects to the case, an inquiry was set up in April 2004 by the then Minister for Health and Children
, Micheál Martin
to investigate the matter. Their report was made public by the Tánaiste
, and Minister for Health Mary Harney
in February 2006.
The Lourdes Hospital Inquiry report was written by Judge Maureen Harding-Clarke, a prominent Irish judge. She and her team interviewed Dr Neary himself, most hospital staff in Drogheda and various action groups and patients.
During the inquiry, Judge Harding-Clarke's offices were broken into at least three times, she has said.
Her report repeated many findings of the Medical Council's investigation (which she criticised for taking too long), but delved much deeper into Dr Neary's actions, and those of his colleagues.
. The average consultant obstetrician carries out 5 or 6 of these operations in their entire career.
The judge also found that numerous patient files had disappeared from the hospital, obviously removed by people sympathetic to Michael Neary, she wrote. She was unable to find out who removed the files but believes the person to be female.
She criticised the 'Catholic ethos' of the hospital at the time. Sterilisation was forbidden, contraception was unavailable, but she reported that 'secondary' sterilisations were commonly and sympathetically carried out on women who did not want more children but were forbidden to use contraception by the Church.
Dr Neary said this was the main reason he carried out so many hysterectomies. He also said the number in the report was wrong, that it was actually less.
The report states that there was a "culture of respect and fear" in the unit so that even when questions were raised, people did not have the opportunity or the courage to speak out.
The Inquiry came to the conclusion that Dr Neary had a “heightened sense of danger” and that his fear of losing a patient approached “phobic dimensions” and led him to practice defensive medicine and carry out hysterectomies when he feared losing a patient.
Judge Harding-Clarke wrote that questions should have been asked in the hospital long before 1998, when things first came to light. “The unplanned sterilisation of a young woman, as some of Dr Neary’s patients were, is too high a price to pay for a surgeon’s phobias,” states the inquiry report.
One anaesthetist appointed to Lourdes in the 90s told the Inquiry that while people who worked with Dr Neary come out and criticise him now, they “all thought he was wonderful” in 1996.
Dr Neary was seen as a hard-working consultant and was much respected in the area.
In February 2006, when the report was released, the Health Service Executive
issued an apology to the women who suffered at the hands of Dr. Neary. The Inquiry found how a senior consultant colleague of Dr Neary’s in the 70s and 80s, now deceased, told a Matron who was questioning the high number of hysterectomies that Dr Neary was “afraid of haemorrhage”. A junior consultant pathologist at the hospital in the early 80s asked his senior colleague why a perinatal uterus specimen he received seemed to have nothing wrong with it. The senior consultant replied “that’s Michael Neary for you”. Dr Neary himself told the inquiry that he would have welcomed the opportunity to retrain and to observe other obstetricians at work. During the inquiry, he was asked about the frequent media claims that he hated women, and he replied that this was untrue, that “women were intuitive” and knew when men did not like them.
Judge Harding-Clarke wrote in the inquiry report that it "was hard not to have some sympathy for Dr Neary".
She said: “It was difficult not to have some sympathy for Dr Neary…his health is no longer strong. He is pilloried in the media and referred to as a 'monster' and a 'mutilator of women'. The effect on his life is profound. He will never practice medicine again, and he will never be given the opportunity to see how and where he got it wrong".
Although much of what is in the Lourdes Inquiry report was already known, the Inquiry brought it to a much wider audience. As a result of the outcry following the publication of the report, the Medical Council pressed to introduce new legislation that would allow them more power to find and stop any doctor who is performing poorly. They also introduced stricter Competence Assurance rules for doctors. The biggest thing to come out of the inquiry, however, was the complaints made against three well respected Dublin obstetricians who in 1998 wrote two reports appearing to clear Dr Neary of any wrong-doing and defending his treatment of nine women whose wombs he removed.
On Sunday, 31 August 2008, RTÉ
1 aired part one of the two part series Whistleblower
based on real events, it outlined one Midwife's concerns with Dr Neary's practices and ultimately blowing the whistle on his unnecessary hysterectomy procedures.
Hysterectomy
A hysterectomy is the surgical removal of the uterus, usually performed by a gynecologist. Hysterectomy may be total or partial...
during his time at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital
Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital (Drogheda)
Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital is a public hospital located in Drogheda, County Louth, Ireland, part of the Louth Meath Hospital Group. It is managed by the Irish Government's Health Service Executive and provides acute-care hospital services, including a 24-hour emergency department, for the...
in Drogheda
Drogheda
Drogheda is an industrial and port town in County Louth on the east coast of Ireland, 56 km north of Dublin. It is the last bridging point on the River Boyne before it enters the Irish Sea....
, County Louth
County Louth
County Louth is a county of Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Louth. Louth County Council is the local authority for the county...
. He was suspended by the Irish Medical Council in 1999 pending their investigations, and then struck off the Register of Medical Practitioners in 2003. As a result of the Medical Council's investigation, which discovered a number of alarming aspects to the case, an inquiry was set up in April 2004 by the then Minister for Health and Children
Minister for Health and Children (Ireland)
The Minister for Health is the senior minister at the Department of Health in the Government of Ireland and is responsible for health care in the Republic of Ireland and related services.The current Minister for Health is James Reilly, TD...
, Micheál Martin
Micheál Martin
Micheál Martin is an Irish politician who has been leader of Fianna Fáil since January 2011. He is a Teachta Dála for the Cork South Central constituency...
to investigate the matter. Their report was made public by the Tánaiste
Tánaiste
The Tánaiste is the deputy prime minister of Ireland. The current Tánaiste is Eamon Gilmore, TD who was appointed on 9 March 2011.- Origins and etymology :...
, and Minister for Health Mary Harney
Mary Harney
Mary Harney is a former Irish politician. She served as Tánaiste from 1997–2006, Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment from 1997–2004, and as Minister for Health and Children from 2004 to 2011...
in February 2006.
The Lourdes Hospital Inquiry report was written by Judge Maureen Harding-Clarke, a prominent Irish judge. She and her team interviewed Dr Neary himself, most hospital staff in Drogheda and various action groups and patients.
During the inquiry, Judge Harding-Clarke's offices were broken into at least three times, she has said.
Her report repeated many findings of the Medical Council's investigation (which she criticised for taking too long), but delved much deeper into Dr Neary's actions, and those of his colleagues.
Report Findings
The Inquiry found that Dr Neary carried out 129 of 188 peripartum hysterectomies carried out in the hospital over a 25 year period, some on very young women of low parityParity (medicine)
In biology, parity is a technical term that refers to the number of times a female has given birth to a fetus.It can lead to some ambiguity for events occurring between 20 and 24 weeks, and for multiple pregnancies.-Enumeration:...
. The average consultant obstetrician carries out 5 or 6 of these operations in their entire career.
The judge also found that numerous patient files had disappeared from the hospital, obviously removed by people sympathetic to Michael Neary, she wrote. She was unable to find out who removed the files but believes the person to be female.
She criticised the 'Catholic ethos' of the hospital at the time. Sterilisation was forbidden, contraception was unavailable, but she reported that 'secondary' sterilisations were commonly and sympathetically carried out on women who did not want more children but were forbidden to use contraception by the Church.
Dr Neary said this was the main reason he carried out so many hysterectomies. He also said the number in the report was wrong, that it was actually less.
The report states that there was a "culture of respect and fear" in the unit so that even when questions were raised, people did not have the opportunity or the courage to speak out.
The Inquiry came to the conclusion that Dr Neary had a “heightened sense of danger” and that his fear of losing a patient approached “phobic dimensions” and led him to practice defensive medicine and carry out hysterectomies when he feared losing a patient.
Judge Harding-Clarke wrote that questions should have been asked in the hospital long before 1998, when things first came to light. “The unplanned sterilisation of a young woman, as some of Dr Neary’s patients were, is too high a price to pay for a surgeon’s phobias,” states the inquiry report.
One anaesthetist appointed to Lourdes in the 90s told the Inquiry that while people who worked with Dr Neary come out and criticise him now, they “all thought he was wonderful” in 1996.
Dr Neary was seen as a hard-working consultant and was much respected in the area.
In February 2006, when the report was released, the Health Service Executive
Health Service Executive
The Health Service Executive is responsible for the provision of healthcare providing health and personal social services for everyone living in Ireland, with public funds. The Executive was established by the Health Act, 2004 and came into official operation on January 1, 2005...
issued an apology to the women who suffered at the hands of Dr. Neary. The Inquiry found how a senior consultant colleague of Dr Neary’s in the 70s and 80s, now deceased, told a Matron who was questioning the high number of hysterectomies that Dr Neary was “afraid of haemorrhage”. A junior consultant pathologist at the hospital in the early 80s asked his senior colleague why a perinatal uterus specimen he received seemed to have nothing wrong with it. The senior consultant replied “that’s Michael Neary for you”. Dr Neary himself told the inquiry that he would have welcomed the opportunity to retrain and to observe other obstetricians at work. During the inquiry, he was asked about the frequent media claims that he hated women, and he replied that this was untrue, that “women were intuitive” and knew when men did not like them.
Judge Harding-Clarke wrote in the inquiry report that it "was hard not to have some sympathy for Dr Neary".
She said: “It was difficult not to have some sympathy for Dr Neary…his health is no longer strong. He is pilloried in the media and referred to as a 'monster' and a 'mutilator of women'. The effect on his life is profound. He will never practice medicine again, and he will never be given the opportunity to see how and where he got it wrong".
The Aftermath
Michael Neary's actions caused national outrage, shock and even horror. The idea that a well-known and liked (as he was at the time) consultant obstetrician could needlessly remove women's wombs, and get away with it for so long, was shocking in itself, but the delay in discovery and investigation, and numerous other incidents that emerged following the publication of the Lourdes Inquiry, created a media storm and resulted in pages of coverage in newspapers. The women harmed by Dr Neary came forward and spoke of their distress and how they still wonder why he did it. Represented by the group Patient Focus, they may receive compensation from the State for what happened to them, a matter that is being discussed in the Department of Health.Although much of what is in the Lourdes Inquiry report was already known, the Inquiry brought it to a much wider audience. As a result of the outcry following the publication of the report, the Medical Council pressed to introduce new legislation that would allow them more power to find and stop any doctor who is performing poorly. They also introduced stricter Competence Assurance rules for doctors. The biggest thing to come out of the inquiry, however, was the complaints made against three well respected Dublin obstetricians who in 1998 wrote two reports appearing to clear Dr Neary of any wrong-doing and defending his treatment of nine women whose wombs he removed.
On Sunday, 31 August 2008, RTÉ
RTE
RTÉ is the abbreviation for Raidió Teilifís Éireann, the public broadcasting service of the Republic of Ireland.RTE may also refer to:* Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, 25th Prime Minister of Turkey...
1 aired part one of the two part series Whistleblower
Whistleblower (TV series)
Whistleblower is a two-part IFTA-winning fact-based RTÉ drama which focuses on the Michael Neary scandal that erupted in the 1990s. Neary is a retired Irish consultant obstetrician/gynecologist who gained notoriety when it was discovered that he had performed what was considered an inordinate...
based on real events, it outlined one Midwife's concerns with Dr Neary's practices and ultimately blowing the whistle on his unnecessary hysterectomy procedures.