Readers' Blog: Scandal in a long line of screw-ups

The recent smear test scandal is one in a long line of screw-ups by our medical system. We hear it all the time with a mountain of medical cases before the courts. People who were misdiagnosed and when the fault was realised, a defensive posture was taken by Government agencies to avoid being sued.

It is the same old story: Denial and damage control by a medical screening system which is unreliable. Women are no doubt bound to be gravely worried who placed their trust in a system which is inadequate and mismanaged as the government clearly admit. Our medical system does not want to admit it got it wrong. When it comes to cancer and screening, there is no room for error and time is of the essence. Nine-to-five numbers are not sufficient either and there should have been a 24-hour hotline available to women affected by the medical negligence going on it the HSE. The bottom has to fall out of something in this country before something happens. We do not seem to be getting better either by having a Taoiseach who was a doctor. Doctors in politics does not mean we are going to have a better health system — far from it seems.