Smear test row women need truth

WHEN the Health Minister admits he has no confidence in the running of Cervical Check how can women have faith in it?

Following the appalling treatment of Vicky Phelan, it has now emerged 206 patients have developed cancer after getting the all-clear.

This is a dreadful situation with startling similarities to the hepatitis C scandal that resulted in the deaths of hundreds of women.

The State has again treated patients in an appalling manner where it appears protecting institutions took priority over health.

A woman who was diagnosed with cervical cancer a year after she was given the all-clear has said she is not sure if she is one of the 206.

And the boss of the Cervical Check service was not able to say for certain if all of the women involved had been contacted.

A patient said she started having symptoms which turned out to be cancer in 2015 but a year earlier she had been told she was fine.

She has rightly asked: “How can anyone with a normal smear feel OK now?”

The answer is they cannot and they now find themselves in the desperate situation of not knowing if they are at risk of developing cancer.

A full investigation must be launched to determine how this scandal came about.

There must also be greater penalties, including corporate manslaughter, enshrined in law for those found to have endangered lives or caused death through negligence.