Uncertainty over who faces bill for prostate cancer retests

Thousands of patients whose prostate cancer tests have to be reviewed on foot of a fault with the test kit will not be billed for repeat tests and biopsies — but just who will foot the bill remains unclear.

The Health Service Executive would not say yesterday whether the state or the kit manufacturer, Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics, is liable. Siemens also said it had “no comment” to make. The HSE said it will be liaising with the manufacturer “as is normal in these circumstances”.

The costs will be substantial, considering more than 15,000 test samples have to be reviewed in relation to patients who attended Connolly Hospital in Dublin and Mayo General Hospital in Castlebar for the PSA (prostate specific antigen) blood test, which is used as an aid in detecting prostate cancer.