The Government is to establish a scheme to compensate women who had their wombs or other body parts unnecessarily removed at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda.
The move was signalled yesterday following a meeting between Patient Focus, the group representing the women, and Tánaiste and Minister for Health Mary Harney. It is expected the scheme will be put in place quickly and will pay damages to up to 250 women.
The State, however, is not expected to have to pay the full cost. Taoiseach Bertie Ahern told the Dáil the taxpayer shouldn't be expected to pick up the bill every time. "In relation to compensation, yes it is an issue that the Government will address. But the hospital is insured, the doctor is insured. We have to make sure, in whatever arrangements are made, that it is not the taxpayer that picks up everything," he said.
The move to establish a compensation scheme follows the publication on Tuesday of the damning report of an inquiry into practices at the hospital. It found an abnormally high number of hysterectomies was carried out there: 188 peripartum hysterectomies (within six weeks of delivering a baby) were carried out at the hospital's maternity unit between 1974 and 1998, and 129 of them were carried out by one doctor, Dr Michael Neary, who has been struck off the medical register for unnecessarily removing patients' wombs.
Sheila O'Connor, spokeswoman for Patient Focus, said her group's meeting with Ms Harney had been constructive. "It was a great meeting. We were very pleased with it. We are confident the needs of all women in our group will be looked after," she said.
"She listened to the needs of the women in terms of compensation. She said she wanted to get this sorted quickly. She will come back to us in a week to 10 days after she has brought proposals to Cabinet."
Colm MacGeehin, solicitor for the women, said the cost of the scheme would depend on how many people it would cover.
"The Tánaiste put an outside figure of damaged people in Drogheda at 250 people. That is not a very big population of people, but it's very big in terms of people who have lost body parts," he said.
"But in comparison with hepatitis C, in comparison with institutional redress . . . it's not a huge number of people."
Patient Focus also discussed with Ms Harney the fact that 44 patients' records are missing, preventing them from ever seeking redress in the courts. Ms Harney has invited the Garda to read the inquiry report with a view to securing a successful conviction in relation to the files, which the inquiry found were deliberately removed from the hospital.
The Garda press office said the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation would look at the issues raised when instructed to do so by the Minister. The Garda previously investigated missing patient records following a formal complaint from hospital management in 2004. A file was sent to the DPP, but no prosecution was brought.
The inquiry report said one original file had been found in Dr Neary's house, but this file did not relate to a hysterectomy.
Sheila Martin of the Louth Meath Health Group, and a friend of Dr Neary, said yesterday she wanted the missing records investigated again. Her home was also searched by gardaí during the initial investigation. "I want my name cleared properly," she said.
She said the Medical Missionaries of Mary, who were responsible for the management of the hospital for much of the period inquired into, should contribute to the compensation scheme.