SERIOUS questions must now be answered on the running of the health service following the Cervical Check Scandal, the Social Democrats have said.
The party’s Galway West candidate, Niall Ó Tuathail, said: “It’s disappointing that no action has been taken on the 1631 cases of cervical cancer not audited by Cervical Check and that the Department of Health has not contacted the woman or families affected by this, despite the Minister for Health announcing this in the Dáil some weeks ago.”
It is understood that up to one out of five of these unaudited Cervical Check cases have a previous history of smear testing, meaning potentially 326 women are affected across the country.
The Social Democrats are calling for the Minister to contact the individuals impacted urgently and to expedite the audit on their files.
Ó Tuathail, who received just 1,100 fewer first preference votes than Hildegarde Naughton TD, said that recent developments highlight how real reforms are necessary in the Irish healthcare system.
He said: “As an immediate step we call on the government to reinstate an Independent Board to provide the oversight and governance of the HSE, as these recent events show we cannot rely on senior HSE management to regulate themselves”.
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