The Minister for Health, Mr Martin, has agreed to instruct the Medical Council to release all files to the Garda in relation to a struck-off GP, Dr Paschal Carmody, according to the families of his patients. They met the Minister in Dublin last night.
Dr Carmody and a former US eye surgeon, Dr William Porter, are being investigated by gardaí for their part in the provision of alternative light treatment for cancer patients in the mid-west. Patients paid up to €20,000 each for the treatment.
Patient Focus, the group representing families of patients treated by the former Killaloe GP Dr Carmody, described the meeting as "proactive", and said the Minister "listened attentively" to their requests.
A Patient Focus spokeswoman last night said: "The meeting from our point of view was most productive and proactive. There seemed to be a good understanding between the two parties, and Minister Martin said he would order the Medical Council to hand over all their files on Dr Carmody to the Garda."
It has also emerged that the group was asked to put forward submissions on the new Medical Practitioners Act, preliminary details of which were announced by Mr Martin last week.
The group also called for greater lay representation on the Medical Council during the meeting, and the introduction of a health ombudsman with full clinical powers. The call for the release of the files comes in the wake of a Garda raid on the premises of both doctors last week in which alternative medicines and files were seized.