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VICKY PHELAN HAS said the inquiry into the CervicalCheck controversy must be done as a matter of urgency and in a public fashion.
The controversy was brought into the public eye following a court case by Phelan, who is terminally ill. Last week she was awarded €2.5 million over incorrect smear test results from 2011.
Earlier this week, Health Minister Simon Harris announced the launch of a Health Information and Quality Authority statutory investigation into the CervicalCheck screening programme.
It has emerged that more than 1,500 women who developed cervical cancer did not have their cases reviewed by CervicalCheck.
The HSE has confirmed that 17 women whose cases were reviewed as part of an audit have died. It has yet to be determined if their deaths were due to delayed diagnoses.
Cian O’Carroll, Phelan’s solicitor, told RTE’s Morning Ireland, any investigation must be held in public, but that he is “wary” of going down a tribunal route.
Vicky Phelan / Twitter@SimonHarrisTD @campaignforleo @morningireland As the woman who exposed this scandal, I want to see a Commission of Investigation that is both urgent and prompt but also PUBLIC. Too much has already happened behind closed doors. #CervicalCheckScandal https://t.co/uoRaRxm6mV
— Vicky Phelan (@PhelanVicky) May 3, 2018
“We’ve had a number of serious scandals in our health system. This one goes to affect so many people that I think it does justify an open public forum – even if it does take longer, even if it costs more money,” O’Carroll said.
‘Extremely distressed’
The Irish Cancer Society’s Cancer Nurseline, an information service staffed by trained cancer nurses, has been “inundated” with calls about the controversy in recent days.
Speaking to TheJournal.ie, the helpline’s manager Naomi Fitzgibbon said there has been a “significant increase” in terms of people getting in touch via the helpline, email and social media.
Fitzgibbon said about 100 people called the helpline yesterday – a much higher number than normal.
She said some of the people who have got in touch are directly affected by the controversy, while others have more general concerns or don’t fully understand the situation – something compounded by confusing information being shared.
“We’re answering people’s individual questions, explaining what has happened and making sure people understand what they need to do,” Fitzgibbon told us.
“There’s a team of specialist cancer nurses here to answer specific queries from a medical information point of view.”
Fitzgibbon said the nurses are also directing people who need additional emotional support to counselling services, noting: “Some women are extremely distressed.”
‘Screening is not perfect’
Fitzgibbon said that screening is “not perfect” and mistakes will happen. However, she stressed that it plays an important role in helping to detect cancer.
We want people to know that screening is important so that the next time they receive a letter inviting them to a screening that they don’t just put the letter in the bin. We want to help people make an informed decision and look after their health.
“Screening is not perfect, it’s not the be all, it’s not the end all. People have to look after their health as well. It’s one part of being aware and taking that opportunity to look for early signs and symptoms, but it doesn’t prevent cancer from happening,” she said.
The Irish Cancer Society’s free helpline can be contacted on 1800 200 700 from 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday. People can also get in touch via email, social media or online.
In recent days, thousands of people have also contacted the HSE’s CervicalCheck freephone helpline (open from 9am to 6pm every day) on 1800 45 45 55 (from Ireland) or +353 21 4217612 (outside Ireland). More information can be read here.
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Headline should read “opposition pushes policy they know will worsen housing crisis in order to get more votes”
@Tom D: The opposition are a bigger part of the problem by driving more and more small landlords out of the market with their populist anti landlord pie in the sky policies.
@Jim Connolly: Correct, students. It’s the people who never had control of anything that are the problem. Now, repeat.
@Jim Connolly: good man Jim Ur right that’s why rents are sky high even higher than mortgages but it’s the opposition’s fault
@derek doogan: correct, well founded fears of a SF Govt has led to 10s of thousands of landlords exiting the market.
@Tom D: as a proud landlord I’ll be voting for FG they are the only ones who seem to care about owning your own assets
@Proud Landlord: I’m with you there. FG are the only ones giving any support to people who want to work and have an asset that they can call their own and not be looking for handouts. There is no real party in Ireland now that represents self sufficient hard working citizens.
@Proud Landlord: the party that’s been in government for 12 years.. who has made all the decisions and created the mess. Because the problem is some others who never had power.
It really takes a special kind of special to fall for this, but landlords seem to readily eat it up. Bit of a pattern there really.
Looking for a winter ban is tokenism from opposition. They want to be able to paint government as anti renter. We don’t need eviction bans, we need tenants rights.
@Live from Ireland: to trash a house without consequence!
@Keyser Söze: SF/IRA and the rest of the looney left have nothing to offer. My assets means my rules
In most European countries renters have laws to protect against eviction.. they have secure contracts with some security of tenure. Here in Italy people get a 3 year contract initially, after that they are entitled to a 4 year tenancy..and so on . people can not be evicted during their contract,and rents can’t be increased beyond the cost of living index. There are a very few homeless people in Italy.
In other European countries there are similar laws to protect renters rights… it’s not rocket science for this government to look at some of the other EU countries and model a fair scheme suitable for Ireland. There can only be one reason why this is not happening…. they don’t care.
@Ronan Skelly: What happens if the tenant stops paying?
@Ronan Skelly: my house my rules
@David Corrigan: Balaclava and a baseball bat?
FF/FG government are the largest landlord members in the government outside of the vulture funds so nothing will be done to damage their profits.
@Albert John: SF/IRA is full of landlords. Think there needs to be an investigation into the unexplained wealth of SF/IRA members on the average wage….
We followed the RTB process to the letter.
It took 20 months to evict a non paying tenant.
Oh, and wheres the “tsunami of evictions” we were warned about?
@Paul: RTB should be disbanded, a useless quango that contribute nothing apart from being anti landlord.
@Paul: Really interested to know, did you eventually get paid the missing rent and your legal fees and indeed any material damages to the property.?
Re:Tenant Rights. There’s now an NCT for all HAP houses every four years which a LL must obey. But what of tenants? Should a tenant have an official documented history (not some sketchy phone number or letter reference) that a LL can refer to?
Well done to the government, the far left want to steal our assets. Finally some backbone by sticking up for the best people in our society
If a landlord gets a “Badun”, who doesn’t pay the rent for a year and it needs a further big lump of legal fees to get them out, what then.? The PTRB find in favour of the landlord, but has any landlord ever recovered the judgement sum.? If the tenant has it, he wouldn’t have been behind his rent in the first place.
Why do we not convert the RTB into a public version of Airbnb. It works. They take the rent, make a deduction. Pay the landlord monthly regardless while the tentant is there , and deal with any legals “in house. ” No more need for false “good bye” references.
If the Government guarantees the rent, or offers to buy the property from the landlord, then sure, bring in an eviction ban.
Otherwise it’s just a deadbeats paradise.
Out of touch apathetic sods!
@Joanne Stokes: that’s the far left clowns for you
Get out the door!
have your say