She was recently named by the BBC as one of 2018’s most “inspiring and influential” women.
Vicky Phelan came to prominence in Irish public life after she exposed the Cervical Check scandal which involved the mishandling of cervical screening results, leading to the discovery that many women were not informed that their screening had failed to show signs of cervical cancer.
She would take an American lab responsible for handling her results to court, and in April of 2018 Phelan won a settlement of €2.5 million from Clinical Pathologies Laboratory, based in Austin, Texas.
New BBC documentary Vicky Phelan: The Woman who Changed Ireland looks at “how one woman uncovered a medical scandal that rocked Ireland” over the course of a highly personal 27-minute summary of events.
“As she battled to save her own life, Vicky uncovered a scandal that rocked the Irish establishment and exposed a country still coming to grips with radical social upheaval,” offers the production notes as broadcaster Helen Devlin sits down with the Limerick mother of two to hear her story.
First aired on Wednesday on the BBC World Service, the documentary looks at Phelan’s relationship with her children in addition to her fearless campaigning.
“I’m proud of my Mom as she’s very strong and she has really changed the country, and she’s made everything better for women,” says her daughter Amelia in the documentary.
A must-listen that champions the hard work and incredible spirit of a woman who has been rightly championed for her efforts.
You can listen to Vicky Phelan: The Woman who Changed Ireland right here.
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