Probe must lead to better oversight across the board

‘MISSED OPPORTUNITY’ is the phrase in an inquiry report that no patient wants to read.

It means that warning signs were dismissed or simply not heeded.

For a patient who has gone on to develop a disease like cancer, it confirms they had false reassurance, while those who were in a watchdog and overseeing role failed to act.

The latest news is that Bowel Screen, the youngest of the cancer screening schemes, has already paid out a compensation settlement.

And it is now facing further claims arising out of the misdiagnosis of patients in Wexford Hospital.

It gives new significance to the findings of an inquiry report into the Wexford incident, published earlier this year.

A doctor conducted faulty colonoscopies on 13 patients attending Bowel Screen.

The inquiry showed there were several alerts by a member of staff about the standard of the work but patients were not recalled for over a year.

We know that the earlier a patient’s cancer is diagnosed the better chance a patient has of survival.

There were alarm bells also at Cervical Check.

Warning signs emerged that not every woman who developed cancer had been given an audit confirming their smear test mistake.

The issue of oversight of screening programmes is crucial – and whatever comes out of the Cervical Check investigation, it must involve better surveillance.

This must not just involve Cervical Check, but also Breast Check and Bowel Screen.

Detected

In its first round of screening completed in 2015, Bowel Screen had detected 517 cancers.

Almost three in four of these were at an early stage.

More than 2,700 people are diagnosed with bowel cancer each year in Ireland, a figure that is expected to rise.

More than 1,000 people die from the disease annually, making it the second most common cause of cancer death in Ireland.

Like all screening programmes, when it works and picks up cancer, it is a lifesaving service. There is no room for complacency to risk this objective.