We previously reported on the announcement that 17,500 women who underwent cervical screening under the care of the Southern Health and Social Care Trust were recalled. A report last Autumn was produced by the Royal College of Pathologists which found staff were “significantly underperforming”, mechanisms to check work were “flawed”, action taken by management was “inadequate over many years” and a “significant” number of results would have been identified as “potentially abnormal” by other laboratories.
An apology has been made public by the Trust to all of those who have been impacted.
O’Reilly Stewart Solicitors have noted with concern the number of women and their families who have been impacted by the Southern Trust’s Cervical Recall. We take this opportunity to offer our support to those people and formally back the calls that have been made by patient representative groups, including “Ladies with Letters”, and the public generally for a Statutory Public Inquiry to commence.
Public Inquiries are investigations launched by the Government to deal with events of major public concern or to consider controversial public policy issues. Statutory Public Inquiries have additional powers as they can provide legal safeguards, compel witnesses to attend the Inquiry to give evidence and they also maintain clearer limits on the Government’s involvement.
O’Reilly Stewart believe that only a Statutory Public Inquiry will assist the public in understanding how significant underperformance, flawed mechanisms, inadequate management actions and the misinterpretation of lab results – all findings made by the Royal College of Pathologists – took place. We look to the experience of other jurisdictions in similar circumstances, and indeed recent healthcare related inquiries within Northern Ireland, and would suggest that only through the mechanism of a Public Inquiry can the issues which have permitted the identified failures to arise, be fully and forensically examined.
O’Reilly Stewart have a team of Solicitors who specialise in Clinical Negligence and Public Inquiry work. Please contact a member of the team if you or your family would like to raise a query in respect of the issues discussed above.
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