Hospital records The National Maternity Hospital has admitted it was short-sighted to destroy all its pre-1968 medical records writes Eithne Donnellan
The admission by the hospital's acting master Dr Peter Boylan came following criticism of the move by the Information Commissioner Emily O'Reilly.
In her first annual report published earlier this month, Ms O'Reilly said the decision to destroy "a vast body of medical records, personal to a large number of individuals, was at best lacking in foresight and would not today be considered good administrative or record management practice".
The matter came to her attention after a woman who requested access under the Freedom of Information Act to medical notes relating to the birth of her son at Dublin's Holles Street hospital in 1959 was told they had been shredded. Ms O'Reilly said the requester had undergone a medical procedure at the hospital "which resulted in a great deal of suffering for her". The procedure is understood to have been a symphysiotomy.
Speaking to the Irish Medical News this week, Dr Boylan said the decision to destroy the records was made in the early 1980s and "would have been taken with legal advice".
He said Ms O'Reilly was "absolutely correct".