Irish health system shows failure to learn, amid new cervical check scandal
The processing of cervical check samples has been suspended at the Coombe Hospital lab. The state’s only certified laboratory has had its accreditation suspended, resulting in the cessation of processing cervical check samples. Based at the Coombe Hospital in Dublin’s south inner city, the closure of the National Cervical Screening Laboratory has led to the outsourcing […]
3 years ago
CervicalCheck campaigner Ruth Morrissey has died
Rest in peace, Ruth Morrissey. CervicalCheck campaigner Ruth Morrissey, who successfully sued the HSE over the scandal, has died. She was 39. Morrissey had been suffering from terminal cancer as she fought the case in court, and was awarded damages of €2.1 million from the HSE and two laboratories, Medlab and Quest. A 2014 review […]
6 years ago
Martyrs – What price do women have to pay when we ask them to share their stories?
The women won it. As the results of the referendum on the Eighth Amendment rolled in, campaigners and politicians and journalists all praised the women; “brave” women and “bereaved” women who “shared” their stories. Even in countries where abortion isn’t a crime, there is still a stigma around talking about terminating a pregnancy. In Ireland, […]
6 years ago
HSE to develop “culture of putting women first” following CervicalCheck report findings
“The HSE wishes to reiterate its apology to all of the women impacted by the delays in issuing important information to them.” The Health Service Executive of Ireland (HSE) has pledged to develop “a culture of putting women first” as the organisation takes “immediate actions” in response to a detailed report into the CervicalCheck IT issue. […]
7 years ago
CervicalCheck patient Orla Church has died
Tragic news. One of the women who received a false negative on a smear test taken under the CervicalCheck screening programme has died. According to RTÉ, Orla Church died at the Mater Hospital in Dublin on Sunday. In a statement, the group said: “We have just learned with great sadness of the death of Orla […]
7 years ago
This BBC documentary on Vicky Phelan is a must-listen
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 […]
7 years ago