A gynaecologist told the High Court yesterday that she was "personally devastated" and felt suicidal after a private clinic in Galway withdrew her access to surgical facilities last December.
She said she had no problem with the law of the land or the rules of the clinic about abortion.
Dr Andrea Hermann said that after access to theatre facilities was withdrawn from her on December 7th, she was "left in total limbo" and she added: "It doesn't get any worse than that." She said that she had been building up a practice at the Galway clinic but after the decision to withdraw surgical facilities her practice "suffered hugely" and many of her patients walked away.
Dr Hermann (41), of Rockbarton Court, Galway, was giving evidence on the opening day of an action by her against the Galway Clinic Doughiska Ltd and its chief executive officer Dr Olwyn McWeeney.The defendants have denied the claims.
Dr Hermann paid €350,000 in June 2004 for a long-term lease on a consulting suite at the exclusive €100 million facility on the outskirts of Galway City which opened in July 2004. She claims the clinic provides hospital facilities, including surgical facilities and that, while these are owned by the clinic, she is entitled to use them and has been using them since June 28th, 2004. Dr Hermann was suspended from carrying out surgical procedures at the clinic on December 7th. The clinic said this was pending the outcome of a review into two operations in January and December 2005 where complications arose.
In an affidavit, Dr McWeeney said the defendants were not imputing culpability to Dr Hermann for the post-operative difficulties suffered by the patients in question. The decision to cancel and reschedule Dr Hermann's scheduled surgical procedures for a limited period was designed solely as a protective measure pending the findings of an independent clinical review into the causes of the post-operative difficulties experienced by the patients in question, she said.
The hearing before Mr Justice John MacMenamin continues today.