A group representing former patients of the Drogheda obstetrician Dr Michael Neary have rounded on the Minister for Health for again failing to meet them. Frank McNally reports.
Patient Focus said Mr Martin cancelled a meeting yesterday at short notice, when a number of its members had already travelled to Dublin to attend it.
The meeting, which was to discuss the terms of an inquiry into Dr Neary's activities and the appointment of a person to chair it, was arranged after an previous meeting was also postponed by the Minister.
A spokeswoman for Patient Focus, Ms Sheila O'Connor, last night angrily questioned whether Mr Martin was committed to an inquiry.
"It's very strange that a lobby group like ours finds itself pleading and begging for an inquiry into this abomination, and that our case does not seem to be high up in the Minister's priorities."
She added: "We have always treated the Minister and his office with courtesy and patience, making allowances for his busy timetable. Unfortunately, this hasn't been reciprocated."
Dr Neary was struck off the medical register by the Medical Council in July after he was found guilty of professional misconduct for unnecessarily removing the wombs of 10 of his patients.
A spokeswoman for Mr Martin regretted the cancellation of yesterday's meeting, which she said was forced by "very urgent"departmental business. It would be rescheduled for a mutually acceptable time over the next week, she added.
She indicated that the Minister was in the final stages of naming a person to chair the inquiry.
But Ms O'Connor rejected this, saying it was exactly what the group had been told the last time they met Mr Martin, in October.
She said a meeting of the full membership of Patient Focus - the more than 130 woman who have made complaints about Dr Neary - had been arranged for next Tuesday. This had originally been designed to brief members about the Minister's plans, but it might now be necessary to invite Mr Martin to address it directly.