Our Lady of Lourdes: Institutionalised Contraception
If only blogging had been invented in 1974.
That was the year that a certain consultant obstetrician took over in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda (just north of Dublin). If blogging were part of Irish culture then, a nurse in the hospital might have revealed what was going on. Blogging enables
whistle-blowers to bring out into the open what’s going on behind the scenes.
Blogging lets the powerless speak out. Potentially it is the greatest social audit ever invented. Blogs, and the community of bloggers, can hold the mighty to account and thereby prevent violence.
The papers and radio today are full of the story of what went wrong in one Irish hospital. I haven’t read Judge Maureen Handing Clark’s 300+ page report.
I’m glad I didn’t rush into blogging about it. Every hour another piece of the jigsaw has fallen into place. It reminds me so much of the Stephen Lawrence case.
Over the last few years a new term has entered the English language in the UK: institutionised racism. The London police (the Met) were found guilty of “institutionalised racism” by that enquiry report.
In a nutshell, “institutionalised racism” means that there is a system of racism that is so pervasive that the core issue is not racism by individuals, or even unconscious racism by a particular section. The whole culture, its systems, procedures, policies are so racist that no one sees what is going on.. No one intends to be racist but all collaborate in such a way that a racist outcome is inevitable. The London police force, indeed London and British society, are still grappling with the aftermath of Stephen Lawrence’s murder and its failure to bring his killers to justice.
So you can see perhaps why I remember Stephen Lawrence when I think about the women who had their wombs untimely and unnecessarily ripped out by a consultant who thought that what he was doing was OK.
That consultant in one Irish hospital was not an “evil” doctor, says the Judge. That shocked me. I thought of Doctor Shipman: he was also thought by some people to be a kindly doctor.
Institutionalised contraception perhaps?
Who was involved?
1 The consultant
2 Those who selected him for the job
3 Those who worked with him on a daily basis
4 Those who failed to notice that he didn’t report what he was doing
But also
5 Those who owned the hospital and set its culture
6 Those who let the consultants be a law unto themselves
7 Those who knew that the Irish ‘health’ system has professions in it who were beyond public scrutiny
What’s the point in trying to list everyone…
Why I failed to do my duty:
From 1955 – 68, I had a dentist in Limerick. He filled my teeth every time I went to him. He ruined my teeth, so that I’ve had to have every tooth rescued by a real dentist in Dublin in 1972. The dentist that caused my teeth, and the teeth of my brothers and sister, to suffer disastrously was Paddy MacPoland (or something like that). He was a good golfer, a captain of the club.
I have an uncle who was a dentist at the same time. He would not say a word against that other dentist, even thought he knew the damage MacP was doing. He would only hint that it might be a good idea to get a second opinion. He refused to say a bad word against him even in private.
Doctors and dentists never spoke against each other. It was part of their professional code. They conspired against their patients, systematically.
I knew this from the age of ten.
What did I do to protest against the power of the professions in Ireland? Nothing.
Who else has known about this culture of not questioning the consultant?
Every fucking one of us, I’m afraid. Including Mary Harney, the Minister.
No one thought such a culture could lead to one consultant running a one-man contraception service, contrary to the wishes of about 100 women in one small hospital on the east coast of Ireland.
The obvious questions now are :
(1) How do we know what’s going on in the other hospitals?
(2) What must we do now to prevent any element of the system from exercising undue influence? (And we must assume the profession of doctors are suspect because of their past behaviour.)
(3) How can we reward whistle-blowing so that it becomes a better thing to do than turn a blind eye to wrong doing?
The violence on Saturday came from one class in Irish society. This violence against women has come from the other end of the social spectrum.
Our Lady of Lourdes must be turning in her grave.
I keep coming back to a worry I have about the safety of my daughter.
I agree with the general thrust of your argument that draws parallels with Institutionalised Racism. I’d not be so quick to assume that Dr Neary = Evil Doctor. Maybe it is the system which is evil. (Which is kind of your point).
Western medicine has developed in a way in which the brightest and best are handpicked from our schools, grown in a hothouse environment that reinforces the message that they are the elite, the best. Professional codes of practice, modes of operation sustain the concept of the supremecy of the consultant. Such that these guys (it is predominantly still guys) entire a system because they were “intelligent” enough to do medicine not because of any particular vocational calling. They emerge convinced that they are the best. They believe that they know better than the patient - hence organ retention, blood transfusion scandals, etc. This group, unused to profesional critique, not surprisingly then don’t react well to external questioning. They close ranks and deny. The healthcare system is complicit in the cover ups, since it is run on the basis of containing the healthcare budget rather than improving the health of the nation.
There is a view - which I think is worth considering - that Dr Neary became pathologically obsessed with blood & major trauma. I think, it more likely, that a person who is constantly told that they are God might want to start to do god-like things to confirm to themselves that they are truly all powerful. Look for an opportunity to demonstrate their particular expertise. It is interesting how many testimonies recall that Dr Neary told his patients how he had heroically saved their lives. I suspect the Dr Neary might even have believed that what he was doing was for the best. But then again the Hippocratic oath says “Do no harm” when it really should be “Do some good”
Paige
Paige
Comment by Paige — March 2, 2006 @ 3:51 pm
Further to my comment. In a sort of link that JL would be proud of, I notice a post by Sarah Carey (GUBU) on MUNCHAUSEN BY PROXY (MBP). Which if I knew anything about medicine, I’d ascribe to Dr Neary (rather than my long winded description)!
Comment by Paige — March 2, 2006 @ 5:15 pm
First of all bravo for such an excellent comprehensive and incisive post, Paul.
Next, to my name. My father’s family name is Pagan. I was raised by my maternal grandparents, however, so when choosing a pen-name, I decided to first go with his so as to protect my family’s identity. Then I realised I was receiving several hits from devil worshippers, so I added an “o” to the end of the name. There you have it.
Comment by JL Pagano — March 3, 2006 @ 11:01 am