The High Court has reserved judgment on a challenge by two consultant obstetricians to the Medical Council's decision upholding a finding of professional misconduct over their reports concerning the obstetric practice of Dr Michael Neary at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda.
Dr John Murphy and Prof Walter Prendiville contend there was no evidence on which the council could have based such a finding and have claimed the council acted unlawfully and unfairly in several respects, including the failure to provide reasons for the findings of professional misconduct. The council has denied those claims.
Their judicial review action was heard over four days and concluded yesterday. Mr Justice Peter Kelly reserved his judgment.
The proceedings arise after Prof Prendiville, Dr Murphy and Dr Bernard Stuart, of the Coombe Women's Hospital, were asked in 1998 by the Irish Hospital Consultants Association to review files on a number of Dr Neary's patients at the Lourdes hospital.
They later produced reports opposing the suspension of Dr Neary.
They say they also secured an undertaking from Dr Neary that he would not perform any more Caesarean hysterectomies without the agreement of another consultant.
Dr Neary was later struck off the Medical Register arising from performing unnecessary Caesarean hysterectomies on patients at the hospital.
In February the Medical Council upheld recommendations from its Fitness to Practise Committee that the three obstetricians be found guilty of professional misconduct.
However, while the committee had recommended that sanctions be imposed on the three obstetricians, the Medical Council decided to impose no sanctions in any of the three cases.
Prof Prendiville, of South Circular Road, Dublin, was found guilty of one out of 12 allegations before the committee. He was found guilty of professional misconduct relating to the failure to apply the standard of conduct expected by a medical practitioner while compiling the report.
Dr Murphy, of the Blackrock Clinic and a consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist with the National Maternity Hospital, Holles Street, was found guilty of three allegations of professional misconduct by the Fitness To Practise Committee.
These allegations related to stating that Dr Neary had no case to answer in respect of the cases reviewed and should be allowed to continue working at the hospital without any restrictions on his practice.
The committee found such a conclusion could not be legitimately expressed without also expressing some reservation about some or all of the cases reviewed.