Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

Thank you very much for coming in and sharing your stories with us. We have had the HSE in at this committee routinely on various issues. Very often, it is about something much more academic and we are trying to understand something and humanise it. Unfortunately, we tend to get change in this country by people putting themselves forward, putting themselves out there in a way that really should not have to happen. Whether it is the Garda, the health service or otherwise, that seems to be what is important in terms of triggering public understanding of the failure of our system. That is why it is so important that you have both gone so public in a situation that is so personal to yourselves.

I have a couple of questions. I know there are a lot of us here and I do not want to delay you. One thing jumped out at me, Vicky, in regard to one of the points you made, and that was about the contractual obligation between the HSE and the lab. Did the contract actually have a requirement for confidentiality? Were there other things, as in the court, that jumped out to you, and that may well be more nuanced, but that would be helpful for us in exploring how we make changes to the system? Stephen, I have to say the way you have been told, and the way this has been handled, has compounded the problem or - I should not call it a problem - has compounded the crisis. The situation where you were brought in and told in such an insensitive way, plus the fact the supports are not there for you, is something of which we have to take very serious note because that is as much to do with the care as everything else that has transpired before this. Thank you for sharing that because it is that understanding of putting the patient at the centre that is central to what we should be doing.