MY MUM DIED IN HSE TEST BLUNDER
Daughter’s rage as heartbroken family is forced to grieve all over again
A WOMAN whose mother was a victim of the cervical cancer check scandal says her family has been forced to grieve all over again.
Catherine Reck died aged 48 after a smear test missed the disease. Her daughter Grace Rattigan said: “It feels like a wound has been ripped open. The sadness and anger is palpable.”
A HEARTBROKEN woman has been left “numb” after discovering her mother is one of 17 to have died in connection with the Cervicalcheck scandal.
Grace Rattigan’s mother Catherine Reck died in April 2012 aged just 48 – almost a year-and-a-half after a routine smear test missed her cancer.
When the scandal broke Catherine’s widower Paul phoned Cervicalcheck to see if his family were affected.
A doctor who originally diagnosed her cancer confirmed the worst to her family last week.
Mum-of-two Grace, from Citywest, South Dublin, said: “We are numb, we are angry – we have been brought back to the start of a long and difficult grieving process.
“This changes everything, all of the what ifs suddenly feel different.
“We spent the last six years accepting we were dealt a sh***y hand, that bad things happen.
“To learn this could have potentially been avoided feels like Catherine’s life and her positive impact on our lives was stolen.”
Catherine’s test in November 2010 showed low-grade abnormalities (precancerous cells) and she was told to wait six months and return for a retest. But irregular bleeding shortly after saw her go to a GP in April 2011 who arranged a colposcopy in Tallaght Hospital on August 11, 2011. She was told then they were confident it was cervical cancer and they did a biopsy which confirmed she had stage three cancer. Catherine and her family faced eight harrowing months and she passed away on April 13, 2012. Grace’s wedding was three months away and she found she was pregnant three days before her mother passed away.
The audit of cervical tests uncovered the smear Catherine received in November 2010 was incorrectly reported.
Grace, 30, said: “We have now been informed had this been reported correctly the colposcopy would have been requested immediately and would have been conducted no later than January 2011.
“Conversely, as a result of this discrepancy, it was not carried out until August 2011, meaning treatment didn’t begin until October 2011 – almost a year after the incorrect smear test result was received. We cannot
believe this is happening. Things could have been very different for all of us.
“We feel we are starting our grieving process all over again. It feels like a wound has been ripped open, the sadness and anger is palpable.”
Grace’s family was told the devastating news the discrepancies in Catherine’s smear test result were spotted in 2016.
They were informed in a colposcopy examination room in Tallaght Hospital last week.
She added: “It’s quite possible this is the exact room Catherine received her examination and diagnosis.
“The doctor sat and informed us they were made aware of the discrepancies in 2016. The doctor stated they had followed instruction on a letter from Cervicalcheck. The instructions read, ‘In the cases where a woman has died, simply ensure the result is recorded in the woman’s notes’.
“They chose not to inform us. There was a handwritten note scribbled by the doctor on the letter – ‘Find out if the patient is alive or not’.”
She added: “We are ready to fight this. We want answers for Catherine, her family and the other women and families who have been failed.
“We want accountability. Above all else we want change. We never want this to happen to any woman or her family in this country again.”
The HSE declined to comment on Catherine’s case.
They chose not to inform us. There was a note. It said, ‘Find out if the patient is alive or not’ GRACE RATTIGAN DUBLIN YESTERDAY