James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for allowing this issue to be raised as a matter of urgency today. This concerns the publication today of the HSE report which confirmed 13 misdiagnoses of bowel cancer at Wexford General Hospital. In October 2014, two persons who had previously been cleared of having bowel cancer were subsequently diagnosed with it. This led to a review of more than 600 patients, 400 of whom had to undergo further colonoscopies, and it was confirmed in today's report that 11 additional people were identified as having cancer which, to use the HSE's terminology, was "probably missed" by the original screening process. That gives a total of 13 misdiagnoses and we know that one person died before a review could be carried out.

While there is always a risk of human error in medical assessments, it appears that this was much more and it is clear that this should not have happened. My thoughts at this time are with those who were misdiagnosed and their families. It must be an extremely distressing and fearful situation for them to find themselves in. There was also unnecessary stress for the 600 people who were subjected to a review and the more than 400 people who had to undergo a second colonoscopy. All of these people suffered additional and unwarranted stress. It appears that the hospital, on detection, acted quickly to inform the patients and to carry out a recall. However, why were so many failed screenings carried out before an issue was identified? The large number would point to systemic failures as well as human error.

The appointment of an external expert to carry out a review is welcome but it is important that this expert would be free to carry out a wide ranging review and not one just into the individual decisions of the clinician concerned. It is important that it would review the wider aspects of the issue. It is clear that there has been a serious lapse in proper health care. The families have been caused serious and needless stress, one man has lost his life and others will forever wonder whether the cancer could have been identified sooner.

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