Doctors at the annual general meeting of the Irish Medical Organisation have expressed concern at the Medical Council's behaviour in the recent Dr Moira Woods inquiry.
Dr Roisín Healy, accident and emergency consultant at Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children, in Crumlin, proposed a motion "that the IMO request the Medical Council to actively promote the reputation of the profession by informing the public of the advances, limitations and risk of current medical knowledge and practice, thus encouraging the development of an equal partnership of trust and understanding between patient and doctor".
Dr Healy said the impetus for the motion came from the Dr Woods case.
With others working "in the area of child abuse, I share a deep sense of disquiet both at the Medical Council process and the effect of its judgment on practitioners' work", she said.
Noting that the Medical Council's Fitness to Practise Committee decision in the Dr Woods case was not unanimous, Dr Healy defined professional misconduct as "conduct which doctors of experience, competence and good repute . . . consider disgraceful or dishonest".
Later, the State's contingency plans in the event of a bio-terrorism threat were outlined at a special scientific session.
Dr Darina Flanagan, director of the National Disease Surveillance Centre, said that ongoing surveillance was most important. "It is essential that public health specialists are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week if there is to be early recognition and effective management of an attack."
Antibiotics, anti-viral agents and vaccines against the six most likely biological agents are being stockpiled. Dr O'Flanagan noted that the Republic was especially fortunate to have sourced 600,000 doses of smallpox vaccine at a time when there was intensive competition for a limited worldwide supply. The Department of Health's Expert Committee had designated particular hospitals and quarantine sites for use in the event of an attack, she said. The preparation of information material for professionals and the public was also well advanced.
Dr Kirsty Murray of the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, told the meeting that bio-terrorism had special features not found in other disease outbreaks. These included the potential for large-scale casualties and a short window for effective intervention.
She described a "Health Alert Network" which has been established in the United States to distribute public health information on bio-terrorism to local health officials. It includes prevention guidelines, rapid communication with first responders and high- speed internet connections.
Alison O'Connor, Political Reporter with The Irish Times, discussed the role that the media can play in effectively communicating how best to handle a bio-terrorism attack. "If any credible advice is to be given to people about [an attack], it must be full and accurate," she said.
The agm supported a call for the setting up of a Men's Health Council, similar to the statutory body for women. Proposing the motion, Dr Declan Bedford, a public health specialist with the North Eastern Health Board, noted that male life expectancy in the Republic was more than five years less than that of women.