HSE confirms at least 17 of 208 affected by cervical cancer tests scandal have died

At least 17 of the 208 women affected by the escalating cervical cancer tests scandal have died amid growing fears over the true scale of what happened.

Senior HSE officials confirmed the fatality rate as they said 162 of the 208 women were not told of the test mistake and that 175 had care they needed delayed due to the error.

Speaking during a detailed 90-minute press conference, the chair of the HSE’s serious incident management team examining what happened, Dr Patrick Lynch formally confirmed deaths have occurred.