Officials questioned use of ‘open disclosure’
A CERVICALCHECK memo showed HSE officials questioned the use of ‘open disclosure’ for screening services – despite it being Government policy since 2013.
A briefing note dated June 29, 2016, was forwarded to officials in the Department of Health, showing question-and-answer style guidelines for treating clinicians, ‘in the event of any media interest’.
It read: ‘While CervicalCheck supports the principles of open disclosure, it is recognised that there are limitations to its universal implementation, particularly for screening services where there is an inherent recognised error rate. The assessment of avoidable harm that doctors are asked to make, which should be done in consultation with the relevant consultant doctors, should take this into consideration.’
The note was blasted by Fianna Fáil health spokesman Stephen Donnelly in the Dáil last night, who said: ‘They specifically reference open disclosure and then say, “We’re not going to do this”. It’s incredible.’
Elsewhere in the 120-page documents, efforts to contain the scandal are evident.
One passage reads: ‘Women should not be informed of the audit until the initial treatment has been completed.
‘She should be informed about the audit in general terms and asked if she would like to be informed about results once they are available’
Minutes from a meeting between CervicalCheck executives and the Department of Health officials show how a close eye was being kept on how patients were reacting to news of the smears. It reads: ‘A total of 120 letters have been issued so far with no adverse reaction.’
In another memo from October 2016, the chief medical officer Tony Holohan at the Department of Health was informed that legal proceedings had been taken by one of the women involved in the cervical cancer audit.
The women who initiated the legal action subsequently died.
The memo was circulated to Mr Holohan stating that ‘one legal proceeding has been taken by a woman who has since passed away’ and that a further ‘four letters from legal representatives of women seeking copies of all medical records have been received’.
‘Women should not be informed’