I had to tell judge why we are so angry we weren’t informed of false smears

CervicalCheck women had to emphasise the importance of non-disclosure

MR Justice Charles Meenan first believed that the non-disclosure issue in the CervicalCheck controversy was of minor significance – until campaigners explained to him the crucial importance of the State’s failure to inform women of the false all-clears.

Lorraine Walsh, a patient representative for women and families caught up in the crisis, met with Judge Meenan after it was announced that he would be tasked with finding an alternative to the courts system to deal with claims arising from the scandal.

During the two and a half hour meeting, Ms Walsh said she strongly communicated the impact non-disclosure has had on the women affected and it was of major significance to his report.

She said: ‘I explained to him that it undermines every bit of confidence that women had in the system.’

Speaking with the MoS, Ms Walsh recalled Judge Meehan stressing that the biggest part of these cases would be negligence. She insisted that the non-disclosure was a ‘significant factor’ for the affected women.

The realisation for women that their clinician had been withholding information from them, in some cases for years, was a huge issue of contention for everyone affected, said Ms Walsh.

She left the meeting feeling like she ‘had really been listened to’.

The Meenan report recommends that a tribunal be set up to deal with the CervicalCheck claims. Women and families will still have to prove negligence in

‘What were they hiding?’

their cases before a court – with the opportunity for the labs accused of negligence to contradict them – but it will be done in private, in a less formal setting.

Health Minister Simon Harris is likely to uphold the report’s recommendations.

Judge Meenan’s report says that there is a basis for claims arising from non-disclosure and that liability in these cases would rest with the state and not with the laboratories involved.

Ms Walsh feels that Judge Meenan did the best he could for those affected, but she can’t ‘get excited’: ‘Women are still going to have to give evidence in front of a plethora of people.’

Stephen Teap, whose wife Irene died after receiving false smear results, said that non-disclosure is a hugely contentious issue for those affected: ‘The non-disclosure of information has been a key element from day one. “Why wasn’t this information disclosed? What were they hiding?”, these were the questions being asked by everyone.’

Paul Reck, who lost his wife as a result of the scandal said that the grief he faced in discovering his wife’s death could have been avoided.

He said: ‘The feeling of knowing that someone knew what happened but they just decided to sit on it and not inform us is horrific.’