John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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1377. To ask the Minister for Health the number of cases and the total amount paid out in compensation for screening errors, perceived and actual, relative to the CervicalCheck screening programme in each of the years 2017 to 2022 and to date in 2023; the number of women who were successfully treated having been identified through the screening programme; if he will provide figures for the reduction of cervical cancer since the programme began; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [64003/22]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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The State Claims Agency (SCA) has a statutory remit to manage personal injury claims on behalf of Delegated State Authorities including the Health Service Executive.

The information contained in this report has been extracted from the National Incident Management System (NIMS).

The State Claims Agency (SCA) has received 381 CervicalCheck claims as at 8 January 2023, including psychological claims brought by family members. In relation to the 381 claims received, set out by year in the table below, 212 are active and not yet concluded, 169 have concluded.

Table1 CervicalCheck Claims, by Claim Create Year

The SCA cannot give a definite figure for CervicalCheck cases settled given the nature of the cases, some may be resolved by the laboratories or other third party and the SCA may not be privy to the outcome. Claims can be concluded by a number of means; including case settled, court award, indemnity received (from co-defendant or third party), claim discontinued or statute barred, and claim intimated but not pursued.

It should be noted that most of the claims have been settled by the laboratories involved in the individual claims and, accordingly, the Agency does not, in all instances, have details of settlement payments made by those laboratories.

Please note the additional queries raised are a service matter and have been referred to the Health Service Executive for attention and direct reply to you.

Definitions:

National Incident Management System (NIMS): Incidents (which include claims) are reported using the “National Incident Management System”. This is hosted by the State Claims Agency (SCA) for the HSE, other Healthcare enterprises and State Authorities. An incident can be a harmful Incident (Adverse Event), no harm incident, near miss, dangerous occurrence (reportable circumstance) or complaint.

Claim:A claim refers to notification of intention to seek compensation for personal injury and/or property damage where it is alleged the State was negligent. The application may be in the form of a letter of claim, an InjuriesBoard.ie application, or a written/oral request.