Fiona O'Loughlin (Kildare South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Recently I read that it was a wonder that women did not spontaneously combust with rage on a regular basis. It sometimes feel like all we do is discover another failure by the State to take care of our health, children, right to equal pay, right to a fair pension and right to bodily autonomy. The voices expressed in the Scally report made me furious about how those women had been treated and kept in the dark by a paternalistic and misogynistic health system. I was furious about how many of them had been spoken to when the bad news was eventually broken to them. I was furious that the trust they had placed in the health system had been so grievously breached. A total of 206 women, with families and loved ones, missed out on earlier interventions. Lest we ever forget, 18 of those women have since died.

The report is a shocking indictment of the mismanagement of a public health system that is vital for women's health. It indicates that the system was doomed to failure and that the policy and practice of open disclosure were deeply inadequate. Are we ever going to listen to women's voices? If not for women like Vicky Phelan and her determination to bring this scandal to light, how many women would still be in the dark about a cancer diagnosis? How many men like Stephen Teap would not be facing life as a widowed father? It should be these women's voices who decide about the commission of inquiry. It is no longer acceptable for decisions to be made on their behalf, as they have lost their trust in the system. The report's recommendations must be implemented as quickly as possible and women must never again be left in the dark about their health. The Medical Council's code of ethics states patients are entitled to honest, open and prompt communication. We can only hope young women will not be failed as their mothers have been.

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