Sir, – In the context of a doctor’s duty to tell the truth, since I qualified as a doctor in 1983, I have never before seen the introduction of a new medical service (national or local) with so little advanced planning and investment in relation to clinical guidelines, training, referral pathways, human resources, infrastructure, equipment and logistics. I am, however, seeing this happen now in relation to the Government’s commitment to introduce new abortion services in January 2019.
With just over three months to go, I believe the public needs to know how poorly prepared we are as doctors to provide this service. Political expediency to meet a deadline combined with a serious lack of planning and investment will invariably compromise patient safety. We do not need to wait for an expert report or a statutory inquiry to tell us this in a few years. – Yours, etc,
Prof CHRIS FITZPATRICK,
Consultant Obstetrician
and Gynaecologist,
Coombe Women and Infants
University Hospital,
Dublin 8.