Michael Neary is a former Irish consultant obstetrician/gynaecologist who carried out unnecessary surgical removal of the wombs of 129 women, many immediately following delivery of a baby. This happened while he worked at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda, County Louth. He was placed on administrative leave in 1998 and suspended by the Irish Medical Council in 1999 pending investigation.[1] In 2003 he was found guilty of professional misconduct by the Irish Medical Council and struck off the Irish Register of Medical Practitioners.[2]
The national scandal eventually led to state compensation for some of the victims. On 18 April 2007, Minister of Health Mary Harney announced a 45 million Euro compensation scheme, to cover up to 172 of the patients who had surgery between 1974 and 1998.[3]