HSE West has received 47 queries from women in relation to induced miscarriages carried out following the advice of consultants.
The controversy that has arisen since the discovery that viable embryos were recommended for termination has led to a review of patient records going back five years. However, at the HSE West forum this week members contended that many cases dating back more than five years should equally be investigated.
Labour councillor Catherine Connolly described the matter as “very unsatisfactory” particularly for those women who will “never know if their baby could have survived because they didn’t think to go for a second opinion”.
“Most people accept what a consultant or medical professional tells them, but now unfortunately that’s been sullied because it wasn’t found to be the case that such opinion could be relied on and that is regrettable. For whatever reason consultant misdiagnosis has occurred and that is unfortunate in our health system.”
HSE West Director of Operations John Hennessy said the matter was still a subject of ongoing debate. However he added that the reading of an eight to 10-week-old foetus on an ultrasound is “not an exact science” and is “open to interpretation”.
“It is still a difficult area that requires controls,” he said, pointing out that second scans and second opinions were now automatic in some hospitals.
