National Women’s Council echoes call for independent enquiry into cancer misdiagnosis deaths
Published: Monday, September 22, 2008
The NWCI has today called for an independent enquiry into the tragic deaths of Edel Kelly and Ann Moriarty as a result of breast cancer misdiagnosis. 'Two cases of breast cancer misdiagnosis in as many weeks, resulting in the tragic deaths of two women is sadly another terrible and shocking indictment of the treatment of women in an inequitable health system' stated NWCI Director, Joanna McMinn.
In December 2007 the NWCI held a national protest to highlight the breast cancer screening scandal that had arisen at Portlaoise and highlighted the need for services in cancer care that meet the highest standards of excellence; that women could trust.
Referring to NWCI members around the country, Ms McMinn explained: 'NWCI members have expressed fear and anger this week over the needless deaths of two more women due to a misdiagnosis of cancer. They have lost confidence completely in the present health system and many have stated that they would rather travel to Dublin for treatment from around the country, if they were to receive such a diagnosis of cancer'.
The Council also shares the views of Rebecca O'Malley that the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) is best placed to conduct an independent investigation.
The NWCI further notes that in the HIQA recommendations from their investigation in 2007 that the high quality multi-disciplinary approach and triple assessment was absent in the case of Rebecca O'Malley. The NWCI supported the case for Centres of Excellence and the multidisciplinary approach to diagnosis, at the time of its protest in December 2007, (and also in its 2006 report: Women's Health in Ireland: Meeting International Standards') but now, at the end of September 2008, there is still no evidence that the multi-disciplinary approaches have been implemented. These approaches were certainly absent in the case of Edel Kelly and Ann Moriarty.
'This highlights a systemic failure' continued Ms McMinn 'and one that is totally unacceptable. At our protest in December 2007, we demanded that the cancer screening scandal that had taken place at Portlaoise must never happen again.....tragically it has, not just once, but twice.'
Ms McMinn called for the prompt and speedy release of the progress report on the Rebecca O'Malley Enquiry which is due at the end of this month. The NWCI is further demanding a full review of the 2006 Strategy for Cancer Control from a gender perspective and for an implementation plan to ensure that targets for prevention and screening are met.