The head of the Health Service Executive has said a whistleblowers' charter in the health service is something that must be closely examined.
Professor Brendan Drumm also said there was much to be learned from what had happened at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda.
Professor Drumm was commenting for the first time about Dr Michael Neary who unnecessarily removed the wombs of women over many years.
The report by Judge Maureen Harding Clark into the Maternity Unit at the hospital was, according to Prof Drumm, damning. There is much in it that the medical professions must learn from, he said.
For many years consultant obstetrician Dr Neary had unnecessarily removed the wombs of many women without anyone raising any concerns. Eventually, two junior midwives blew the whistle.
Prof Drumm said the issue of a whistleblowers' charter is something which needs to be looked at for the medical profession, and also how to protect those who voice concerns in what he described as a hierarchical environment like the health care system.
Following the call for the role of some senior midwives in the hospital at the time to be examined by An Bord Altranais, Prof Drumm said where serious questions had been raised, then the regulatory bodies should be free to examine them. However, he warned they should not be turned into witch-hunts.
