Obstetricians in the Republic have been quoted an annual premium of £393,000 for malpractice insurance by one of two medical defence agencies.
The Medical Defence Union which has 35 consultant obstetrician members here, has effectively withdrawn from the market for obstetrics cover. The remaining 51 obstetricians and gynaecologists are covered by the Medical Protection Society. The chief executive of the MPS, Mr John Youngman, has criticised the MDU's decision. "I simply do not understand the calculations on which the MDU purport to justify this subscription level - the figures make no sense to us," he said.
The MDU board blames "the absence of any clear solution to the litigation crisis" for its decision. In a letter to its members, Dr Michael Saunders, the MDU chief executive, explained that there is a small pool of doctors to fund high and frequent awards.
He said that given a birth-rate of 54,000 in the Republic, there is the potential in just one year for cerebral palsy claims alone to total £24 million. This implies a cost of £220,000 per obstetrician just to cover these claims.
The Department of Health, is considering a "no fault' compensation system for cerebral palsy claims.
The MPS has agreed to accept the transfer of MDU members. Irish Hospital Consultants Association Secretary General, Mr Finbar Fitzpatrick, said this transfer was merely a short-term solution. He called for a non-adversarial mediation service in tandem with an enterprise liability scheme.