'Substantial progress' made on CervicalCheck recommendations
At a glance
Substantial progress has been made on recommendations on Ireland's CervicalCheck screening programme
Dr Scally's final report was published on Wednesday
221 women were previously given a false negative result for cervical cancer
Campaigner Vicky Phelan who was among those given an incorrect result died earlier this month
- Published
There has been "substantial progress" on recommendations made on the Republic of Ireland's controversial CervicalCheck screening programme, a public health expert has said.
But Dr Gabriel Scally in his final report on Wednesday said there are areas where more progress could be made.
A 2018 retrospective audit found that 221 women were wrongly told they were cancer-free when they had the disease.
Their tests had been carried out in laboratories in the United States.
Campaigner Vicky Phelan, who died earlier this month at the age of 48, was among those who were given false negatives.
She was diagnosed with cervical cancer in 2014 but a smear test three years earlier showed no abnormalities.
She was named as one of the BBC’s 100 Women in 2018.
In 2018 Dr Scally made 50 recommendations for change, including right of patients “to have full knowledge about their healthcare” except in the rarest of circumstances.
The Taoiseach (Irish prime minister) Mícheál Martin said that he hoped that part of Ms Phelan’s legacy would be a piece of legislation – due to become law by the end of the year - that introduces mandatory disclosure to patients about their condition.
Campaigner Vicky Phelan, who died earlier this month, was one of the women given a false negative
In his 39-page report, Dr Scally said substantial progress had been made on his recommendations but there were areas where more progress could be made.
He said: “The best way of honouring Vicky is by implementing the recommendations of the scoping enquiry.”
Dr Scally also welcomed the plan to have screening at the Coombe Hospital in Dublin but said that given a cyber attack on the hospital in December 2021, it was important to have a back-up laboratory screening system.
All the testing that had been carried out in US laboratories is now being done at one accredited American lab in New Jersey, he added.