19 hours ago
Three die of cancer as CervicalCheck is still ‘failing women'
Three women have died of cancer, and at least seven more have had a positive diagnosis, after their smear tests were allegedly 'negligently misread', despite an overhaul of the CervicalCheck screening service.
These new cases, between 2018 and 2021, are entirely separate from the 350 women who make up the '221+ group', the name given to the women and families affected by the original scandal. CervicalCheck was in crisis in 2018 after it emerged a significant number of women were not informed about incorrect smear test results.
Cian O'Carroll, the solicitor who represented Vicky Phelan in the High Court when she exposed the screening service scandal, told The Sunday Times that he highlighted his 'serious concerns' more than seven months ago to then taoiseach Simon Harris, who passed the letter on to the health minister. Phelan died aged 48 in November 2022 after receiving a false negative smear test result.
