The HSE failed to tell women for five months that an IT glitch stopped them getting their CervicalCheck results, it was revealed yesterday.
Health chiefs admitted they relied on a US-based laboratory to inform patients of the error – which it didn’t do.
The whistleblower at the centre of the latest storm has spoken out to tell how she battled to get the truth about her cancer screen results delay.
The anonymous woman used the name Sharon when she spoke to RTE’s Morning Ireland yesterday.
She went to her GP for a cervical cancer check last December, with the expectation that she would receive her results within 14 weeks.
After waiting six months she was finally that a computer glitch in one of the US laboratories which carry out the checks for the HSE was to blame for the delay.
She said: “Basically all I really wanted was to get my results and know that I
was OK.
“So I would have phoned CervicalCheck on a number of occasions but they weren’t able to give me any kind of guarantee when I would get my results or where my results were, so then at early April I would have contacted the Department of Health.”
Around 800 women are believed to have been affected by the apparent glitch.
Sharon added: “I obviously saw that there was a huge potential issue that women could have negative results and they would be none the wiser.
“So I contacted CervicalCheck again myself and asked if it could be raised that there is a major issue here that letters are not being sent to women and could they raise that on my behalf.”
Dr Peter McKenna, head of the HSE’s National Women and Infants Health Programme, revealed on RTE’s News at One yesterday the HSE was aware of the computer glitch in February – where out of date test kits had been used for screening.
But he also revealed the health service had left it to the US diagnostics firm to inform affected women of the error.
Dr McKenna said they only found out in recent days that the letters had never gone out.
Lorraine Walsh, one of the leaders of the 221+ group of women affected by the ongoing scandal,, also expressed her disappointment.
She said: “It is shocking to think that women in Ireland are still not being listened to.”
Labour’s health spokesman, Alan Kelly said: “How many ways can one screening programme cause so much undue stress and anxiety among Irish women?”
Health Minister Simon Harris said last night: “The HSE has advised it is working to ensure that all women and GPs are informed of results, and that it expects this process to be completed in the coming days.
The health service last night announced it would hold a review into the delays.
HSE chief Paul Reid said: “II have decided to commission an immediate rapid review of this incident.
“We will continue to update the women involved as planned, and to work with Quest Diagnostics to get to the bottom of what has happened and what needs to be done to resolve these problems.”
