A new report has concluded that there is "much still to do" at the maternity unit of Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda, before it will have complied with the recommendations of a risk management team set up in the wake of the Dr Michael Neary controversy.
The report from Capita Consulting and which has been seen by The Irish Times said the individual appraisal and competence assurance frameworks necessary to ensure all staff are fully equipped for the work they are required to do are still in the planning or pilot stages.
In addition, it said a number of policies and protocols have not been finalised. These include a consent policy and a policy around clinical guidelines for induction of labour.
Furthermore, the report says that processes to ensure risk issues are identified on an ongoing basis and appropriately responded to have yet to be fully established.
Following the publication of the Medical Council report on Dr Neary in September, the North Eastern Health Board asked Capita Consulting to review the implementation of recommendations contained in previous risk management reports on the department of obstetrics and gynaecology at the hospital.
It wanted to reassure the public the unit was now a very different one to when Dr Neary performed unnecessary Caesarean hysterectomies there.
Dr Neary practised as a consultant obstetrician at the hospital from 1974 to 1998 and was struck off the medical register after the Medical Council found him guilty of professional misconduct over the removal of the wombs of 10 women.
The Capita team carried out their review last month and interviewed a wide range of medical, nursing and management staff as well as reviewing documentation at the hospital.
While emphasising the work which still had to be done, the team concluded that the hospital had achieved as much as could be expected of it to date. The team said they were impressed in particular at "the genuine efforts" being made by the consultants, midwifery, nursing and management staff to improve the quality and safety of patient care.