Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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223. To ask the Minister for Health the steps he is taking to address the recent misdiagnosis of cancer in patients in Wexford General Hospital; the measures his officials are undertaking to ensure that such misdiagnosis does not occur again in any area of health screening across the country; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3398/17]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The report of the HSE Serious Incident Management Team published last week outlines the look-back process and actions taken by the HSE following the identification of probable missed cancers at Wexford General Hospital. In line with good practice, an external review will now be undertaken as a follow-up to the Serious Incident Management Team report. This review will examine how the incident was identified, escalated and managed, and its outcome will include recommendations relating to governance, accountability and authority at each level involved.

While the BowelScreen programme has led to the early diagnosis of cancers and better outcomes for patients, a number of actions have been identified to ensure the quality of the service provided. These include the development of a professional competency framework for all colonoscopists and endoscopists in screening units, the implementation of a new policy for managing adverse incidents within the National Screening Service and the review of BowelScreen's quality assurance indicators to ensure that all units, and the individual clinicians delivering colonoscopy services on behalf of BowelScreen, are doing so at the highest standard.