Campaigners furious at guide 'rewriting the facts' on Cervical Check scandal

In his 2018 report, Gabriel Scally raised serious concerns including issues relating to the labs used by Cervical Check — but an official guide states that he found the “screening programme was effective and did not find quality issues with the laboratories”. File picture: Gareth Chaney/Collins

The HSE’s National Screening Service has been accused by campaigners of “rewriting the facts” of the Cervical Check scandal. 

The 221+ group, which represents women and families impacted by the smear-test scandal, has hit out at the screening service for claiming, in an information guide, that “no lives were put at risk by doctors not informing patients of the results of the audit” of slides.

The ‘Guide to talking about cervical screening’ states that Gabriel Scally — who carried out a scoping inquiry into Cervical Check — found the “screening programme was effective and did not find quality issues with the laboratories”. Instead, it placed much of the blame on a lack of proper communication.

However, in his report, Dr Scally raised several issues relating to the labs and said there was “legitimate public concern about the issue of the screening slides from Ireland being examined in laboratories not listed in any correspondence or documentation passing between the private companies involved and CervicalCheck”.

221+ say guide conflicts with Scally report

The information guide states that “inaccurate or conflicting information increases anxiety and confusion for people. When inaccurate information is repeated it can become established as fact. This can cause lasting damage to people’s trust and understanding and make them less likely to take up important opportunities to maintain their health.”

The 221+ group said: “For us, it is impossible to understand the basis for this denial, despite all that has happened since 2018 — the work of Dr Scally, the decisions of the courts, two formal apologies in the Oireachtas, and, most of all, the impacts on the lives of the women and families involved, including loss of life.

"We find it hard to believe that we are still discussing this today, almost four and a half years after Vicky Phelan first brought her case to public attention. Sadly, we are not surprised."  

The group said it wants to be able to express full confidence in screening as a vital part of the effort to eliminate cervical cancer in Ireland, but that given ongoing issues, this is not possible.

“Unfortunately, we can’t while we and our members, on a daily basis, find ourselves coming up against a system that refuses to recognise the mistakes it has made,” the group stated.

“We may be tired, but we will not stop until that system acknowledges the shortcomings clearly outlined by Dr Gabriel Scally and others, and embraces its responsibility to make changes based on that experience that will positively impact the lives of all women in Ireland into the future.”

The 221+ group said: 'We find it hard to believe that we are still discussing this today, almost four and a half years after Vicky Phelan first brought her case to public attention.' File picture: Sam Boal/Rolling News

The 221+ group said the information document, which was produced as a guide for journalists, broadcasters, and academics, is not simply an isolated case.

“The document is not something that exists in isolation," the group stated. "It is part of a sustained narrative from the NSS, ongoing in varied forms for almost two years, that seeks to deny and reimagine the Supreme Court ruling and the formal apology delivered to the women impacted by the failings of CervicalCheck by the Taoiseach on behalf of the State.”

It is understood that when 221+ was made aware of the guide, it immediately wrote to the screening services stressing that many women and their families would “take grave exception” to parts of the document stating that there had been “no impact on patient care or prognosis”. Its letter states: 

We are ordinary people and when ordinary people are repeatedly told that what they experienced first-hand didn’t actually happen, we will stop trusting the people talking. 

A HSE spokesperson said the guide was issued to all media outlets in January to increase public understanding of cervical screening.

“We informed our stakeholders about the guide at this time and invited their feedback,” the spokesperson said. 

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"We would never wish to add to the distress or trauma of anyone affected by cervical cancer, especially the people in the 221+ group.

“We work very well with the 221+ group and are currently collaborating with them as we create a new process whereby women who have been diagnosed with cancer after screening can ask to have their screening history reviewed in a protected, compassionate and non-adversarial way."