Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I begin by thanking Aoife Hegarty and team from "RTÉ Investigates" for their essential piece of public service broadcasting last night. I commend the bravery of Alison McCormack who took part in the programme and shared her story.

People should feel safe in our hospitals and they should be sure that they are getting the right care and the best possible care. They should be able to trust the advice of medical professionals and rest assured that the advice given is in their best interest. People should also be confident that when a mistake has been made and medical professionals and hospitals or other health institutions become aware of it, they will be informed and that all will be done to rectify their situation. That is what should naturally happen in a well-run health service.

Compassion and honesty should be evident at all levels and even more so at the higher institutional levels of our hospitals. This honesty and compassion was missing from the treatment of Alison McCormack and this is extremely worrying. It was missing when Ms McCormack was first diagnosed with breast cancer at St. James’s Hospital in 2010 when the pathologist misdiagnosed the seriousness of the cancer in the original biopsy. It was missing when the same pathologist then misdiagnosed the breast tissue that was examined following Ms McCormack's mastectomy.

Two years later in October 2012, Ms McCormack discovered a lump in her neck and returned to St. James’s Hospital for tests. The original cancer had come back and had spread into the lymph nodes of her arm and up into her neck. Ms McCormack began to ask questions as to why her cancer had returned and at her request a meeting with St. James’s Hospital was arranged where she was informed for the first time that her cancer had been misdiagnosed. I put it to the Taoiseach that this meeting was at Ms McCormack's request. She had to ask for it. Nobody came looking for her.

This situation has been further compounded by the fact that the hospital had been aware of a misdiagnosis since February 2013 but Ms McCormack was not informed until November 2013, after she had requested a meeting with the hospital. Nobody came to find her. This woman lost nine long months. Ms McCormack, as a cancer patient, had to go and look for the truth. Had she not gone looking for that truth she never would have learned that the hospital and the pathologist who had examined her had made a huge mistake. Why was Ms McCormack not immediately informed of the misdiagnosis when it was discovered in February 2013?

The "RTÉ Investigates" reporter pointed out that a review of every tenth case, as well as a further nine cases of ductal carcinoma in situ, DCIS, which is a diagnosis similar to Ms McCormack's, revealed that another case had also been misdiagnosed. This shows a 22% error rate for DCIS cases. The hospital has refused to confirm to "RTÉ Investigates" if the second patient has been told that she was misdiagnosed. We know that she is being treated but we do not know if she has been told about the misdiagnosis.

Nobody is saying that the health service can be run without human error but when a mistake is made there should be an apology and the relevant parties should be informed. The patient is at a disadvantage when an error occurs. Last night's programme showed a circling of the wagons. We saw the system come up against one woman on her own. Will the Taoiseach agree that there should be a legal duty of candour? Will the Taoiseach ensure that the full case load of the pathologist who had a 22% misdiagnosis rate for DCIS cases will be reviewed? Can the Taoiseach also confirm that the second woman who was misdiagnosed was informed by St. James’s Hospital of her misdiagnosis?

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