Nurses’ concerns over scandal medic
They raised issues before misdiagnosis storm
NURSES working alongside the doctor at the centre of a cancer misdiagnosis scandal had raised concerns about his performance before he was suspended.
One patient has died and another 11 have been diagnosed with bowel cancer after wrongly getting the allclear following screenings in Wexford General Hospital.
The doctor involved in the misdiagnosis scandal is understood to have been a visiting doctor from abroad and is currently on paid leave.
Six hundred patients who had undergone colonoscopy screenings at the south-east hospital between 2013 and 2014 had to be recalled after concerns about the quality of screening carried out by the doctor.
Expert medical teams, who reviewed patients’ files, found that in some cases, it was not sufficiently clear that the very end of the colon was examined during the procedure due to the lack of clear photographic evidence.
The HSE’s BowelScreen programme raised concerns about the quality of the screenings, which led to the review. However, a source last night told the Irish Daily Mail that staff had raised concerns about the doctor’s performance before this.
The source said: ‘There were some concerns raised [by nurses working alongside him] that he might not be doing it right.’
The initial recall was triggered after it was revealed that two patients who had undergone the diagnostic testing had interval cancers, which is diagnosed between screenings.
However, local medical sources last night told the Mail that there was also concerns that the ‘notes taken [by this doctor] weren’t up to scratch’.
The experts believe the situation could possibly have been avoided if there was more security offered to medical whistleblowers. One doctor said: ‘I think there needs to be a better system about dealing with people who express concerns about individual doctors.’
He added: ‘Clearly there is an issue here, when people don’t want to say there is a problem with somebody because maybe they’re afraid that person will sue them.’
Health Minister Leo Varadkar yesterday extended his sympathy to the patients and their families, as he acknowledged it was a human error which resulted in the probable avoidable death of the male patient.
‘Unfortunately, for so long as we have a health service that is staffed by human beings who use machines, there will be errors, because human beings make errors and machines make mistakes,’ he told Newstalk.
He said due to the invasive nature of the procedure, a ‘system of random re- checks’ may be the best policy to ensure cases are not missed.
A spokesperson for the HSE would not comment on the doc- tor involved in the case, but stressed that all patients involved have been contacted.
They also said they are concerned about how this ‘ongoing confidential review has come into the public domain without authorisation’.
‘The public can be assured that we have acted quickly to ensure the safety of services in the hospital concerned.’
Bowel cancer is one of Ireland’s most lethal cancers, with an average of 2,500 people diagnosed every year. The BowelScreen programme was established by the HSE following the tragic death of mother- of-two Susie Long in 2007.
‘His notes were not up to scratch’ ‘Acted quickly to ensure safety’
Meanwhile, just four in ten men are taking part in Bowel Screen, which researchers described as worrying.
Irish Cancer Society research is looking at why Irish men and women respond differently when invited to take part in colorectal cancer screening.
Researcher Nick Clarke looked at data from men and women who took part in a Tallaght-based screening programme.
He found 60% of women took the test, compared to 40% of men, who are at higher risk of developing the disease.
BowelScreen sends people between 60 and 69 years old a letter asking them to take part in the screening programme.