Tests missed 12 cases of bowel cancer; One death may have been avoidable

A recall of around 600 patients who had undergone bowel screening at Wexford General Hospital found that 12 cancers had been missed including one death which may well have been avoidable.

Health Minister Leo Varadkar has criticised the delay for the review of the cases to be published with a spokesman saying he is “conveying to the HSE the need to improve quality assurance so that lessons can be learned and mistakes not repeated”.

In late 2014, Wexford General Hospital became aware that two patients presented with “interval” cancers — those that were detected between screenings — after having colonoscopies in the hospital in the preceding 18 months.