An extra 12 cases have been confirmed as of Wednesday morning.
The Health Service Executive (HSE) has confirmed that the number of women affected by the CervicalCheck controversy has increased from 209 to 221.
Confirming this news on behalf of the HSE was Director General John Conaghan, who told the Public Accounts Committee at a meeting on Wednesday morning.
His update that a further 12 cases have been identified came in response to questions from Labour’s Alan Kelly.
The controversy surrounding the CervicalCheck service began at the end of April of this year when
Limerick mother-of-two Vicky Phelan was awarded €2.5m in a High Court settlement with a US lab following an incorrect smear test result.
The smears were subject to a clinical audit following their diagnosis but many of the women affected, like Vicky Phelan or fellow terminal cancer sufferer Emma Mhic Mathúna, were not informed of the review or the outcome.
Just last week,
Mhic Mhathúna took a case against both the HSE and the laboratory used by CervicalCheck which resulted in the Kerry woman winning a settlement of €7.5 million.
Mhic Mhathúna was diagnosed with cervical cancer in 2016 but later found out she had been given the all clear from a previous smear test in 2013 by mistake.
JOE has contacted the HSE for comment.
