Mary Wallace (Meath, Fianna Fail)

Like all the other Deputies representing constituents of the north eastern counties, I was devastated on many occasions when attending meetings with the women involved in this terrible saga. I heard many stressful and harrowing stories of individual women. I very much appreciate the openness of the women involved. I appreciate the Patient Focus support group which provided the environment in which the women could come forward, work together and work with us as representatives in the area to highlight the case. Most Members who contributed to the debate referred to the work of the Patient Focus group. Like other Members, I say they are a wonderful group of people who worked for the families and victims who suffered such trauma. Our hearts went out to them, and today we express our heartfelt thanks to them for what has been achieved because of their bravery.

I am well aware of the courage of the women who were affected by the actions of Mr. Neary, and the inaction of others at the time. The women involved had their future robbed by a system and a culture that was allowed to exist at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda. The inquiry carried out by Judge Harding Clark found that a total of 188 peripartum hysterectomies were carried out at Drogheda over a 25 year period from 1974 to 1998. As we look back, we all realise how long this practice went on and how wrong it was. When one examines the 129 cases attributed to Mr. Neary, one must not forget the 42 cases attributed to Dr. Lynch and the 17 cases attributed to registrars and others, and the wider group affected by the action in the unit during that time.

The number of Caesarean hysterectomies has been spoken about by other Members. One in 250 such procedures compared to one in 37 procedures in other hospitals with a similar ethos throughout the country at the time is an extraordinary statistic. It is extraordinary that the scandalous nature of this figure was not highlighted. It is even more upsetting because those involved included teenagers, women in their 20s, women with no other children and some with a small number of children who would have liked to have other children. The trauma experienced by these women is horrendous. Harrowing stories have been told. We must remember today all the tragedies surrounding these horrific events.

The report and the stories of the women clearly indicate that a hierarchical culture was allowed to exist in the hospital with the consultants being treated as gods. It appears that the well-being of patients, which should have been the first priority, was not the priority. Egos and misplaced loyalty or fear of the consultant body appeared to prevail. That should not be allowed to be repeated. What happened at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital should not happen again. But for the bravery of the midwife who had the courage and confidence to bring to light what was going on in the hospital, the ethos might have continued. This person, and the women about whom we have spoken, have done a tremendous service to patients of the future, for which we thank them.

I welcome the commitment of the Tánaiste to address the need to identify and tackle weaknesses in any part of the health system, regardless of whether they are regulatory, governance, organisational, managerial or clinical. She intends to bring proposals to Government to establish a process to ensure the lessons of what happened are built into stronger clinical governance arrangements throughout the health service. This will be an important outcome for all patients. I thank the women for this ground-breaking change in the entire health system.

It is very important to have confidence in a system on which we must rely when we are most vulnerable. Autonomy without appropriate audits should not be allowed in any aspect of hospital life, including consultants, nurses and those responsible for hygiene. I know from my involvement as chairperson of the Patient Focus all-party Oireachtas support group that the Tánaiste has given considerable time and is taking a personal interest in addressing the difficulties experienced by the patients. I thank the Tánaiste for honouring her commitment to the all-party Oireachtas support group on the timing and mechanics of the publication of the report. The group was anxious to have as much time as possible, a promise which was honoured by the Tánaiste. We would go further than the group in terms of our concerns about the establishment of a package of redress to deal with all claims of medical negligence by the women who were in the care of the consultants and staff of the maternity unit in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital between 1974 and 1998. Indeed, the cases impacted by lapse of time are of concern to us, as are the cases impacted by the withdrawal of the Medical Defence Union and the case of the missing files.

We welcome the appointment by the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children of Judge Harding Clark to advise on the appropriate form of redress for the women concerned. We are reminded of what happened in the case brought before the High Court and appealed to the Supreme Court. It is our hope this will be dealt with as quickly as possible in terms of the appropriateness of the form of redress brought forward. The women who have suffered so much already need to be able to bring closure to this episode of their lives. We are concerned to ensure that their cases are heard and that they receive a satisfactory level of redress. We have great confidence and faith in Judge Harding Clark in this respect.

Many of the women concerned were reluctantly launched into the limelight and were forced to make a stand in respect of the injustices levied against them. In thanking them for coming forward and for all they have done, we want to ensure the appropriate form of redress is put in place.

As other Members said, it is poignant that we are discussing this issue on International Women's Day. We would not have arrived at this stage were it not for the courage of the women who were directly involved. They are the victims in this saga. The midwife was pivotal in highlighting the scandalous situation. Judge Harding Clark has produced a caring and comprehensive report. All the foregoing are to be admired and commended on their bravery. I hope we will never have to deal with a situation such as this again. We have confidence in the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children in terms of what needs to be done to address the issues which have arisen in the report.

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