Dáil debates

Tuesday, 1 May 2018

National Cervical Screening Programme: Statements

 

10:15 pm

Photo of Simon HarrisSimon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I did answer it earlier but I am more than happy to answer it again because it is a very important question. I was advised by the Chief Medical Officer very shortly before I came into the Chamber this evening that the work of the serious incident management team, SIMT, the team that has been based in CervicalCheck looking through all of this issue, looking through the audits and ascertaining whether women had or had not been told, had come across this. It is the situation whereby all of the cases that CervicalCheck knew about - all of the cases of cancer - have been audited. That is where we get the 208 figure - it is the 208 where there was an issue raised and whether those women were told or not told. Those figures are now a matter of public record.

The issue is whether there are other cases of cervical cancer in the national cancer registry which had not been notified to CervicalCheck. The information provided to me by the SIMT tonight is that there are and there are likely to be a considerable number. This does not mean there are people sitting at home or anywhere else who did not know they had cancer. They are cervical cancer patients, people who have been treated or diagnosed with cervical cancer, but who never had the audit process because they were never part of the cervical check. Deputy Harty is a doctor and I am not. Some of them may not have had a screening history and some may have. That is the extent of the information I know. I expect it to be a considerable number of people and I expect the SIMT to be able to make significant progress on putting more information into the public domain very quickly. I am conscious that many of the relevant officials will be at the committee tomorrow.

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