The doctor who was to undertake research on patients at St Ita's Hospital in north Dublin will not now undertake the project following protests.
A statement from the Eastern Health Board (EHB) last night said that in view of the anxiety which "uninformed reports of the study may have been causing families who have members with learning disabilities in St Ita's, the GP concerned, who has given many years of excellent service to clients in the hospital has withdrawn her request for consent from families and has informed the authorities at St Ita's that she will not be asking the Hospital Management Committee or the Hospital Ethics Committee to consider any proposal for such a study".
The row surfaced after the Council for People with Disabilities criticised a letter sent to the families of patients about the study of bone metabolism. It also said the study had not been approved.
Patients would have received injections of Vitamin D and calcium tablets, if permission had been given by their parents or guardians.
A number of politicians and candidates in the by-election in North Dublin were also critical of the project and the letter seeking consent.
The council said the response of the EHB was attempting to minimise the contents of the letter, by treating the issue of "regular injections" as something minor. "To seek to represent this letter as a routine inquiry is grossly misleading. Any person reading the letter could not fail to notice its peremptory tone and the fact that it refers to a study already under way."
The EHB said yesterday the products being used were available on supermarket shelves and the study, involving two groups, meant two injections in 12 months. Blood samples would be taken during normal routine blood-testing for other medical reasons.
The doctor was trying to establish if families were willing to participate before the authorities were asked to consider the project. If families did not wish to give consent then there was little point in the proposal being considered.