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THE HSE HAS said negotiations are ongoing between the Executive and two laboratories which examine more than 260,000 smear tests a year under the CervicalCheck screening programme.
The existing contracts with Quest Diagnostics in the US and MedLab Pathology in Dublin are due to expire this month.
A spokesperson for the HSE said “intensive negotiations are ongoing in relation to the extension of the contracts with both laboratories”.
“These negotiations are at a critical stage and every effort is being made to ensure continuity of our vital cervical screening services.”
Insurance
RTÉ News has reported that a key issue is the laboratories securing new insurance to cover the backlog of CervicalCheck tests to be done and for future testing, given the recent controversy involving the programme which has led to a number of legal claims and settlements.
The scandal came into the public eye in April when Vicky Phelan, who has terminal cancer, settled a High Court action against the HSE and Clinical Pathology Laboratories for €2.5 million over incorrect smear test results from 2011, which incorrectly said that her smear was free of abnormalities.
The smear tests of more than 200 women may have been incorrect, a HSE audit found, and there has been much criticism over delays in telling those affected.
Dr Gabriel Scally, who conducted a report into the controversy, last month said he was satisfied with the quality of testing done in the laboratories which provide CervicalCheck screening services.
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Imagine the lives time and money that could be saved if they’d just set up their own lab.
@Dave Thomas: Why would you think that anything set up by the HSE would be any better than the existing ones?
@John McG: Exactly, the HSE do not live up to their own HIQA standards. Daves comment could work though if the set up is done properly without any cronyism involved.
@Dave Thomas: not really, those labs already operate quite well, it just that some people have unrealistic expectations of them. No test result is absolutely correct, if you look up their accreditation you’ll see the quality limits they have set.
In Bulgaria here, i have to have my blood checked every 4-6 months or so. I go to a clinic called Lina. There’s a few Lina clinics around the town. They carry out all sorts of tests that doctors and people require. My checks cost about 12.50 euro and i can print off the results 1 hour after having them. I Ireland having the same tests done by my doctor i had a wait of a week at minimum and the cost was far far higher.
A clinic like this isn’t impossible to set up in Ireland. It’s a private clinic, but it works well and is inexpensive by Bulgarian standards.
Then, the whole public health service here, though not the very best is far superior to what’s available to those in Ireland. Bulgarian authorities have managed to marry public to private and it works for everyone.
@Dave Doyle: If I’m sent by my family doctor for blood tests here in Ireland, I do not have to pay anything. It’s totally free despite the fact that I don’t have a free Medical Card. I do however have to wait at least a week before I hear the results.
@Canny Jem: I pay my GP here 1.10 euro for a consultation. He fills the form for the tests i need. In Ireland i paid 50 euro for a consultation.
@Dave Doyle: Don’t tell Bulgarian GPs that the GPs in Ireland charge €50-€80 per 10-minute Consultation, otherwise they’ll all immigrate to Ireland and set up dubiously-qualified GP Surgeries!
The high cost of Insurance for GP doctors in Ireland is why GP charges are high in Ireland. I’ve had to put my life-long family doctor on notice of a claim because his practice failed to recognise early symptoms of a disablement I now have, when the symptoms should have been recognised by his practice a few years ago.
Who pays for insurance of GP doctors in Bulgaria against misdiagnoses or failures tp diagnose? Its country’s Taxpayers in Bulgaria like you (assuming you pay taxes in that country!)?
I may be missing something but why are they negotiating with the people that f**ked up on the first place. I assume I’m missing something
@Mick Morrissey: they didn’t f@€k up. The results are not 100% accurate, that’s impossible. Even at 95% or 98%, means some slip through, either as false positives or unfortunately in the cases highlighted as false negatives. Unfortunately we don’t have anything better. Even a retest carries a risk of again slipping through.
So essentially the government will have to pay the insurance for these companies if they want the job done, and the insurance companies can name their price knowing this. Great job…what a mess.
It seems the lack of agreement is all down to Insurance costs against claims in providing the services by these companies. The multitude of claims under the scheme is scaring Insurance Companies who are demanding high premiums in return for risks of high payouts on legitimate claims. There is no amount of money that will ever compensate for the tragedies of misdiagnosed cervical cancer.
So, therefore, perhaps a cap on money compensation amounts paid out, never enough in human compensatory terms, needs to be introduced by law. Insurance premiums might drop considerably and the checking services resumed.
Same goes for schoolyard, childcare centres, crèches and motor insurances… all too high to be sustainable for many paying insurance against risks and potential claims. It is because of the high cost of Insurance that many childcare and crèches have had to close in recent years, and those that survive only do so because parents can barely manage to pay for them.
Schools have had to limit children’s activities in schoolyards because of the risk of claims by parents claiming financial compensation for any injury received by a child in schoolyard play. This itself is a disgrace – schoolyard activities are an essential part of learning.
Something’s got to give in the realms of all Insurance costs – and in exaggerated or fake claims in the school, crèche and motor insurance industries particularly.
I may be missing something but why are they negotiating with the people that f**ked up in the first place????
@Mick Morrissey: Because FG do not igve a f***……..money trumps all and life has no value to these guys…..remember that the next time when you go to vote.
@Mick Morrissey: Because FG do not give a f***……..money trumps all and life has no value to these guys…..remember that the next time when you go to vote.
@PaddyOverABarrel: Your response makes no sense and displays a distinct lack of understanding of the cervical check scandal. It’s lazy and easy to rant and takes time and effort to actual read up on the subject
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