Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Independent) | Oireachtas source

As a consequence of suspected cases of misdiagnosis in seven hospitals, with questions raised over the skills of three locum doctors, thousands of scans have had to be reviewed and hundreds of patients recalled. This news comes some years after the issue of delayed X-ray diagnoses at Tallaght hospital and similar issues at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda emerged. The HSE assured us in 2010 that procedures were in place to ensure X-ray readings would neither be delayed nor misread. Why then has the system let patients down once again?

When a patient has a test performed and receives an all-clear result, he or she is naturally relieved. Now, however, some patients not only have an anxious wait to find out if their all-clear result was correct but there is also the fear that a delayed diagnosis could lead to other complications. Why has it taken so long to identify this problem? Why are some of the patients who are affected finding out what is happening through the media?

The period in question is 2013 and 2014. We were assured in 2010, as I said, that national guidelines for radiological reporting were in place and being fully complied with by all acute hospitals throughout the country. As such, this issue should never have arisen. When it did arise, it should have been identified through the review process that was built into those national standards. That did not happen. The doctors in question moved from hospital to hospital within the State and have since moved outside the jurisdiction. Will the Minister indicate what is being done to protect patients in the United Kingdom and Australia who are now under the care of these doctors?

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