Social Democrats co-leader Róisín Shortall TD today called on the Minister for Health to direct the HSE to carry out an audit of women who have been given the all-clear based on tests for a specific gene which puts them at a high risk of cancer.
“It’s vital that all women who have undergone the same test are contacted immediately and provided with clear and accurate information about where they stand.”
Social Democrats co-leader Róisín Shortall TD today called on the Minister for Health to direct the HSE to carry out an audit of women who have been given the all-clear based on tests for a specific gene which puts them at a high risk of cancer.
Deputy Shortall made the call following reports that a woman who was told by Crumlin children’s hospital in 2009 that she did not carry the BRCA1gene has since discovered she was misinformed of her test results.
Deputy Shortall said:
“This case of a misdiagnosed test result has had devastating consequences for the woman affected, who has since been diagnosed with ovarian cancer as a result of a genetic disorder.
“We need to know how this error happened and how many other women are potentially affected. It’s vital that all women who have undergone the same test are contacted immediately and provided with clear and accurate information about where they stand.
“The Minister for Health and the HSE must move swiftly to review the test results of all women who have undergone BRCA tests at Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital Crumlin in the past decade, to ensure no one else is at risk.”
Deputy Shortall added:
“Concerns about standards and resources in the genetics department at Crumlin hospital were criticised in a report by independent experts in 2014. We need to know what actions, if any, were taken on foot of that report’s findings and recommendations.”
ENDS
18th November 2018