Cancer tests under review in north-east

CANCER patients in the north-east are at the centre of the latest scare following confirmation yesterday that a number of diagnostic tests are under review.

The Health Service Executive confirmed it called-in external experts to review a “very small number” of diagnostic tests following reports that it was considering whether to review thousands of X-rays examined by a locum consultant.

A separate review of breast cancer care at Barringtons private hospital in Limerick is due for publication today.

In a statement last night, the HSE said matters under consideration in the north-east “do not relate to breast services and do not relate to mammograms, ultrasounds, CT scans or MRI scans”.

The tests in question “were carried out in prior years and the specific circumstances do not apply to current operations”.

However, the HSE refused to divulge any details on the extent of the review, the number of patients involved, which hospitals in the north-east were included and the nature of the diagnostic tests involved.

The HSE criticised the “exaggerated tone and speculative content” of some weekend comment, saying it was likely to cause unnecessary anxiety for some patients and their families.

It said its decision-making process “will be based on the principle of patients and their families being informed and supported as the main priority”.

However, politicians said the HSE was fuelling anxiety in the north-east by failing to explain the nature and scale of the problem.

Labour Health spokeswoman Jan O’Sullivan said the re-checks of cancer scans had “a sense of a deja vu” and would “add to the growing crisis of confidence in the health service, particularly in regard to procedures for screening and diagnosis of cancer”.

Fine Gael’s spokesman Dr James Reilly said the list of hospitals where patients’ confidence in their diagnosis is being undermined “continues to grow”.

Last month, a review of mammography services in Portlaoise confirmed nine women had wrongly been given the all-clear for breast cancer. Breast care services are also under review at Cork University Hospital, the Mid-Western Regional Hospital in Limerick and University College Hospital Galway.

A report into the misdiagnosis of Tipperary woman Rebecca O’Malley, who lost a breast following a 14-month diagnosis delay, was due for publication in March, but that deadline has been missed. The report, originally due for publication in December has been held up for legal reasons.