Sir, – Disappointment and resignation were my reactions to the list of heavily decorated eminent medics who saw fit to write collectively on the Halappanavar inquest (May 1st). Their suggestion that some of Dr Peter Boylan’s evidence at the inquest was not expert infers that they know better.
The case was about more that management of sepsis. It was also about preventing the onset of such sepsis in high-risk cases. That the outcome of the inquest did not recommend a change in Irish law does not make Dr Boylan incorrect. I have published in academic journals on inconsistent and even simply wrong conclusions in Irish inquests and await action from the Attorney General on two such cases, unrelated to obstetrics.
Dr Boylan obviously touched a nerve among a group of Irish medics, but I consider that he did some service to culture change to make the Halappanavar tragedy less likely to recur. For that I, for one, thank him. – Yours, etc,
Prof BILL TORMEY,
(BSc, MD, PhD, DCH,
FRCPI, FRCPath),
Consultant Chemical
Pathologist at Connolly
and Beaumont hospitals,
Dublin & University of
Ulster,
Glasnevin Avenue, Dublin 11.