Breast cancer debacle - Public must know where fault lies

AS the Health Service Executive (HSE) lurches from crisis to crisis, women can be forgiven for feeling angry and deeply worried over the latest debacle involving a life-threatening error in cancer tests.

Given the gravity of the mistake made in a laboratory test at Cork University Hospital it is disingenuous of the executive to tell women whose cases are now under review not to panic.

The results of breast cancer tests in 28 cases, narrowed down from 300, are being re-examined as a precautionary measure at the request of consultants in Limerick. Those patients are hoping against hope that the botched biopsy analysis in Rebecca O’Malley’s case was a one-off incident.

What people need to know is whether the fault lies with human error or if doubts are hanging over other tests conducted in the laboratory? It should be made clear as a matter of urgency if the error was clerical or clinical.

Now that cure rates for breast cancer are better than ever, it is patently obvious that early detection is vital to determine as early as possible whether a tumour is benign or if it is malignant and needs to be removed.

Rebecca O’Malley’s life was turned upside down when, having been told her condition was benign, she later discovered the tumour was malignant at the time. As a result, precious time was lost and she had to have a mastectomy and aggressive chemotherapy treatment.

Meanwhile, the HSE is facing difficulties on a related front following reports that about 200 women with abnormal smear test results, 80 regarded as “urgent cases”, are waiting up to four months for follow-up examinations at Kerry General Hospital. So large is the backlog of women, that the head of the examining unit has requested patients be referred to the National Treatment Purchase Fund.

That would appear to make sense given the high success rate of the purchase scheme under which 75,000 patients have been treated since 2002.

According to yesterday’s annual report, the average waiting time for the most common surgical procedure is now two to five months, compared with two to five years in 2002. For instance, in Cork University Hospital, a pilot programme reduced the waiting time for orthopaedics from five years to 18 months.

But the question that will not go away is how will the Government roll out a national cervical screening programme when the existing services can’t cope?

The communication system within the HSE in relation to Rebecca O’Malley leaves much to be desired. A full report will be on the desk of Health Minister Mary Harney today.

But it has taken far too long for the system to respond to Ms O’Malley’s fears for the welfare of other women. Out of sheer frustration, she has finally broken her silence.

Women everywhere will empathise with her sense of anger on discovering that the tumour had been there for two or three years, even though she had been given the green light. How could such evidence be missed?

If errors are made in cancer tests, women have a right to be concerned. In light of the personal catastrophe visited upon Rebecca O’Malley, there is a danger women will have even less faith in the health service.

Apart from ensuring that laboratory tests are of the highest standard, there is an onus on the HSE to see to it that issues of importance to patients get prompt attention.

Ms O’Malley has, belatedly, received an apology. But after all she has gone through, that is poor consolation.