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.