WHERE HOSPITALS in Ireland and elsewhere already have protocols for treating Jehovah's Witnesses, legal issues such as those outlined in yesterday's case have not arisen, a representative of the Jehovah's Witnesses claimed yesterday.
Giving his reaction to Ms Justice Laffoy's judgment, Harry Homan of the Jehovah's Witness hospital liaison committee said the fact that the judge mentioned that guidelines should be set up in maternity hospitals was encouraging.
"That's something that we as Jehovah's Witnesses have been trying to do for a number of years. So of course we don't know what those guidelines are. But we look forward to examining that in more detail," he said.
"We try to establish protocols in all of the hospitals, so that when one of [ the] Jehovah's Witnesses arrives at the hospital, the hospital staff knows what's required, the patient knows what's required of them, and it just lends itself to a much more fluid situation, without these problems arising."
Among the requirements of existing protocols is that when a member of the Jehovah's Witnesses attends a healthcare facility, they would mention alternatives that were acceptable to them in "advance directives".
"If there's perhaps any dangers that they've experienced in the past, all of those would be documented, so that the doctors, the obstetricians, the paediatricians, are not going in blind, they have a history there to deal with," he said.
A spokeswoman for the Medical Council said it was not in a position to comment as it was studying yesterday's judgment.
In a brief statement read to reporters outside the Four Courts yesterday, Master of the Coombe hospital, Dr Chris Fitzpatrick, said it was "committed to act in the best interests of each of its patients at all times".
Asked about the judge's findings in relation to the introduction of guidelines, he said guidelines were in place at the Coombe.