“I could be another one of those women and if I had died I would be on that list.”
Vicky Phelan – the terminally ill woman whose court case brought the CervicalCheck scandal to light – revealed that she is “very upset” on hearing the news that 17 women have died following the smear test controversy.
A media briefing was held on Monday afternoon in which HSE representatives confirmed that 17 of the women who had been affected had died.
The meeting also confirmed that the number of women who are believed to have been affected in the recent CervicalCheck controversy has risen from 206 to 208.
Speaking on Ray D’Arcy’s RTÉ Radio One show after the briefing, Phelan came across audibly distressed to learn that the number of women who had died had increased.
“I’m very upset to be honest, to think that there is 17 women, it was bad enough that I knew there was three, I’m quite upset today,” Phelan said.
“I could be another one of those women and if I had died I would be on that list. Thankfully, I didn’t, and I’m here to tell the tale. By God am I going to take these guys on, I think it’s disgraceful.
“I don’t think anyone could have imagined the magnitude of this. These are real young women with young families… By and large most of these are young women with young families and that’s why I’m so upset.”
Replying to D’Arcy’s news that there is to be an inquiry into the CervicalCheck controversy, the Limerick mother-of-two said that she hoped that the investigation would happen quickly, with honest and open reporting on the issue by the media.
“What I don’t want to see is, the minute I heard that announcement this morning it raised warning signals with me – what I don’t want to see is an inquiry or tribunal that’s going to take years and is going to be dragged out,” she said.
“Who knew what and when? They are the critical questions that need to be answered.”
Ms Phelan then said that her currently planning on staying out of the limelight and focusing on her treatment and her family.
“I fought to get access to the drug, I fought during my court case and now I’m at the stage where I really need to focus on my treatment,” she said.
She also said that hopes to still be here when the negligence in the health service she helped to pinpoint has been cured.
“I won’t have achieved anything with what I’ve done if I’m not still alive,” she said.
“If anything it is driving me on, I want to be alive to see the changes that this will effect going forward, it’s another impetus for me to keep fighting, to live basically.”
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