‘Women died after being denied access to drugs’

A senator has claimed women died after being denied access to lifesaving drugs when a cancer research programme was shut down by St Vincent’s Hospital.

John Crown made more claims about the Dublin hospital yesterday, using his privilege in the Seanad, where he also said tens of thousands of euro were spent to cover up financial fraud.

Earlier this week, he claimed he had documents which showed the “cover-up” by hospital management after health insurers were “fraudulently” charged for cancer drugs over 10 years ago. Representatives for St Vincent’s Hospital last night said they were still “urgently” awaiting the documents from the senator.

In the Seanad yesterday, Prof Crown said that a large amount of public money, probably tens of thousands, was spent in pursuit of a “cover-up of financial fraud”. He said it had emerged that the hospital had been billing VHI and other insurers in respect of drugs that had been provided to that institution free for research studies. The hospital’s “absurd” defence was that they did not know the programme existed, despite dozens of staff being involved and reams of paper documenting it, he said.

“When they were caught out they next attempted to prove that the research programme was illegal, tens of thousands of euro of public money wasted in an attempt to criminalise part of their own organisation,” he said.

“As a result of their action the research programme was closed down for a year, women were denied access to a drug, Herceptin, which we now know was life-saving. Though it was not the intent of the fraudsters or those who attempted to cover up, as an indirect result of their actions, women died. My hospital, its management, and its board failed these women and as a result they possibly died.”

The matters raised by Prof Crown relate to issues in 2002 at St Vincent’s Private Hospital and predated the establishment of St Vincent’s Healthcare Group and the board.