Varadkar has all but disappeared from public view, leaving Harris to take the strain
MOST of us can accept that things can go wrong at work. The real issue is how errors or lapses are managed after they occur.
It has not been an encouraging week in Irish public life. We have had two major scandals – the Galway child sex abuse case and the debacle in the cervical cancer testing service – each of which has a number of key issues in common.
One of the few pluses to emerge is that both situations involve heroic women who have shown extraordinary courage and dignity amid the most horrible adversity. Rachel Barry, in the case of sex abuse, and Vicky Phelan, have been shining lights amid a series of otherwise shameful events.
For the rest, we again face three familiar questions. Firstly, will we ever get the full facts of what happened? Secondly, will any individual be called to account personally for their serious failures which resulted in grave harm? Or will we again be fobbed off with talk of “systems failures” and pledges to improve systems?
And, thirdly, can we have any real assurance that such shameful and damaging lapses will not happen again? Sadly, all three questions have a certain rhetorical air. Negative responses are the default position for such queries.
We have not been short of apologies from our political leaders in response to these awful occurrences. These are entitled to be taken at face value on one level.
No politician wants to see these kinds of events happening on their watch. But, against that, if our politics cannot help us to better order our affairs and protect the most vulnerable people in time of need, what good are our politics and politicians to us?
Health Minister Simon Harris has been to the fore in the case of Vicky Phelan. He has responded well in many respects and the problems at the core of the issue date back to 2007.
The minister has promised us certain reforms which he says will be delivered quickly. He has promised to move legislation to guarantee that patients get the information on their situation as quickly as possible.
He has also promised that any woman who wants a re-test, in the light of last week’s horrific revelations, will get one. And he has pledged that the terms of reference for the external review with international experts of CervicalCheck will be decided this week.
The minister has put a senior management team into the CervicalCheck cancer service to take charge of the situation. He said he did not have confidence in existing managers to perform their duties and soon afterwards the HSE confirmed that the clinical director of CervicalCheck, Dr Gráinne Flannelly, had stepped down from her post. But Mr Harris has also had to admit that he does not know how many women may have died arising from the cervical smear controversy.
He has said that he hopes to know by tomorrow if all of the women affected, or their families, have been told.
The minister has “no reason to disbelieve” that three women may have died because they were not told they were given “false positive” cancer test results. But he can go no further than that.
This highlights the HSE’s extreme reluctance to make public the simple facts – even if they are so distressing. It also shows us that the HSE’s reputation and well-being is more important than people’s basic rights.
Furthermore, Mr Harris’s revelation that he learned about Ms Phelan’s case only on April 16 is also a matter of concern. It has reduced the Health Minister to the status of bystander in this important matter which has now convulsed the nation.
He also told ‘The Week in Politics’ programme on RTÉ he hoped the HSE or State Claims Agency would not defend any other cases which may arise from Ms Phelan’s case.
He said he would work with the Government to avoid such an ugly prospect. But again it appeared that he lacked the power to actually stop such a thing happening.
Let’s recall that Ms Phelan had to go to court against a large corporation and the State to get her rights. Had the case gone against her, she could have been left with crushing debts. But we cannot rule out a repeat of that happening.
TAOISEACH Leo Varadkar has been very reticent on the issue and has all but disappeared from public view, leaving his Health Minister to take the strain. Mr Varadkar has said he want to wait until the end of an external review before passing judgment.
But pressure will mount on the Taoiseach to take a more definitive stance than that. Public anger is continuing to mount over the lack of clarity on the issue.
Vicky Phelan’s impressive strength and sincerity have brought home the gravity of this situation to everyone. People deserve a more lucid response from their most senior political leader. He faces a tough time in the Dáil tomorrow.
Mr Harris had to admit he does not know how many women have died