Carer hits out over diagnosis scandal

THE carer of one of four people to die in a missed cancer diagnosis scandal at University Hospital Kerry has hit out at how his case was handled.

A diagnosis of Danny Clifford’s prostate cancer was missed twice but his carer Caroline Morrissey says all he ever got was an apology over the phone.

She also says his cancer was eventually diagnosed as terminal more than nine months late.

The seriousness of the situation was, she says, not fully or clearly explained to the 73-year-old former truck driver – a point later acknowledged in a HSE report into Mr Clifford’s case.

Mrs Morrissey also said last night that she has been left to pay his funeral costs.

Mr Clifford, who died of prostate cancer last year, was one of at least 11 people whose health was seriously impacted after a consultant radiologist missed signs of cancer in scans.

As well as Mr Clifford, three of those affected have since died, while others are coping with terminal cancer.

Mr Clifford, who was originally from Tralee, was previously referred to as ‘Case Four’ in an anonymised 18-word entry in last December’s official report into the delayed diagnosis scandal at the town’s hospital.

The report followed a review of radiology reports relating to 26,000 patients associated with a single consultant radiologist at UHK between March 2016 and July 2017. The review led to 422 patients being recalled to the hospital for reassessment.

Last month the Irish Daily Mail highlighted the case of a father of two in Listowel who has just months left to live and who was also wrongly given the all-clear for cancer. Tony Hannon, another of the 11 affected, also complained about the way his case was handled by hospital chiefs.

Last night Mr Clifford’s former carer, Caroline Morrissey, said: ‘University Hospital Kerry missed Danny’s cancer twice.

‘He missed the chance to get the cancer treated sooner and his life was cut short as a result.’

She added: ‘They never spoke to him face-to-face to make it clear they were sorry for what happened and to explain exactly why it happened. They pretty much left him to his own devices and in the days before he died I had to fight for him to get a palliative care bed.’

She also said hospital chiefs had ‘little or nothing’ to do with making sure Mr Clifford had everything he needed before he died.

Ms Morrissey is also upset she has been left with a bill for Mr Clifford’s funeral costs after social welfare grants. ‘The very least the hospital group could do is pay for his funeral,’ she said.

A UHK spokesperson said the hospital always communicates with patients ‘in an open and honest way when things go wrong in their care’.