‘Misogynistic’ doctors in Scally report face fine of €5k – or being struck off
Medical Council due to meet next week to consider sanctions
THE Irish Medical Council will meet next week to consider using its powers to sanction consultants accused in the Scally report of institutional misogyny.
The board could potentially hit doctors found to have fallen below the expected standard of conduct with fines of up to €5,000 or have their registration cancelled.
The shocking report into the CervicalCheck scandal shone a light on a devastating failure of communication between doctors and their patients, in which women were kept in the dark about their diagnoses because of what the report called a culture of misogyny and paternalism.
In one particularly shocking encounter, one woman said that when she asked her consultant why she had not been previously told, he responded: ‘What difference does it make?’ When she then asked him how she would be informed from then on, he told her to ‘watch the news’.
Another woman recalled being left without answers and ‘ushered out the door with no support and many questions.’ Yesterday the Taoiseach, himself a qualified doctor, condemned the actions of the consultants, saying he was ‘embarrassed’ for his profession, and called on them to apologise to their patients.
Leo Varadkar agreed with the assessment Stephen Teap, whose wife Irene died of cancer, that some in the profession had behaved as though they had a ‘God complex’ regarding what patients should be told. ‘Among some older doctors, there is paternalism and occasionally maternalism and certainly a degree of misogyny,’ the Taoiseach said.
‘It’s an old-fashioned attitude not to tell the patient because it won’t do them any good. But it’s not their right to make that call.’
Health Minister Simon Harris will meet with the Irish Medical Council, the medical colleges and the HSE to discuss responding to Dr Scally’s findings and implementing its recommendations, his spokeswoman said yesterday.
In a statement yesterday, Dr Scally said ‘the matter of the conduct of the clinicians quoted is now a matter for the Medical Council and their employer to consider.’
The Irish Daily Mail has learned that the a pre-arranged meeting of the Irish Medical Council will take place on Wednesday and Thursday of next week, at which the matters arising from the report will be ‘considered in detail’. Complaints against consultants can result in an investigation by the council where a patient or his or her family has requested it. However, the council itself can decide to pursue an investigation if it is concerned about serious issues that have been raised through the courts or in the media.
Among the Irish Medical Council’s grounds for complaint against clinicians is ‘professional misconduct’, which is defined as ‘conduct that experienced, competent and reputable doctors consider disgraceful or dishonourable; conduct that falls short of the standards of conduct expected of doctors.’ Any complaint of a ‘serious nature’ made to the Irish Medical Council will be referred to a Fitness to Practise Inquiry.
Last year, 19% of all complaints against clinicians fell into the category of communications.
Yesterday, the chairman of the Irish Patients Association urged the consultants involved to contact the women affected directly to apologise.
Stephen McMahon: ‘We would endorse what Dr Scally has said this morning. Clearly, the testimony contained in the Scally report has shown an appalling lack of empathy on the part of the consultants.
‘The Irish Patients’ Association, with a number of other advocates, has been campaigning for years for the introduction of mandatory open disclosure.
‘The recent commitment by the Taoiseach and the Government is much needed.
‘It is imperative that the consultants now meet with the women affected and their families to apologise. They know who they are.’
He also called on the Irish Medical Council to develop new structures with medical training colleges to ensure that doctors are able to communicate with patients in an empathetic manner.’
Leo: ‘embarrassed for my profession’