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Vicky Phelan Sam Boal

Vicky Phelan backs Lorraine Walsh's decision to quit CervicalCheck committee

“I share Lorraine’s concerns about the RCOG review process,” Phelan said.

VICKY PHELAN HAS said Lorraine Walsh has her “full support” after she stepped down as a patient representative from the steering committee set up to oversee changes in CervicalCheck.

Walsh, who has cervical cancer, announced her resignation from the committee on Tuesday after a review by the London-based Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) of tests carried out by the screening programme was published. It found that there were missed opportunities to prevent or diagnose cancer earlier in the cases of 159 women.

Posting to her Twitter account, Phelan, a cervical cancer patient advocate who has terminal cancer, said: “I share Lorraine’s concerns about the RCOG review process. I would like to state for the record that I do not have confidence in the RCOG review process.

“It is notable that the focus by the government was on RCOG’s endorsement of the screening programme rather than on the impact of the findings for those women and families, which was actually the purpose of the review.”

Speaking on RTÉ’s Prime Time on Tuesday, Walsh revealed that two of the three cases dealt with by RCOG in which mislabelling occurred involved her slides and those of Phelan.

“Lorraine was first told that her slides could not be traced, she was then given a set of results even though her slides supposedly didn’t exist and 24 hours later was presented with a new report with entirely different result,” Phelan tweeted.

“On further investigation, she found that labelling had been removed from both her slides and mine and our slides were subsequently mislabelled. These events do not instill confidence in the RCOG process.”

Speaking about her resignation, Walsh said “revelations” in recent months “forced me to examine my own conscience”.

“When I got to a stage that I couldn’t sleep at night, I had to resign and I had to leave the CervicalCheck steering committee as the patient representative on it with Stephen Teap,” she said.

Walsh said a few months ago the committee learned that information sent from the RCOG to the HSE was inaccurate.

“Even as late as early October, of 581 reports, half of them had to be returned because the detail within them was inaccurate,” she said.

“I felt that I got to a stage where people weren’t listening to my concerns so I could do no other thing but to resign.”

Walsh said women have been waiting for 18 months for the report, saying: “It’s a long time for women to be sitting at home waiting for answers.”

“So many women’s lives have been robbed, there are so many men out there that their wives are dead, their daughters, their sisters.

“And people like myself, our lives could’ve been so different. It’s so different, when you look at having a cancer diagnosis and then you realise that it could have been avoided, it’s so hard to come to terms with that.”

She said she still has faith in the screening system itself, stating: “There’s a better chance of your cancer being picked up going for your smears so I say to people please keep screening.”

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    Mute Logan Shepherd
    Favourite Logan Shepherd
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    Dec 5th 2019, 9:38 AM

    I would have thought these ladies have been through enough, without this messing around. They have shown nothing but strength and dignity throughout this whole ordeal. Ladies I salute you.

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    Mute Albert Brennerman
    Favourite Albert Brennerman
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    Dec 5th 2019, 10:11 AM

    They Shined it, buffed it, polished it but never fixed it.
    This report should if true to its task been truthful even if at political expense but again we see the truth is concealed, this was for patients, for people that lost their lives and have left children like Emma Mhic Mhathuna.

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    Mute Lyndsay Rehn
    Favourite Lyndsay Rehn
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    Dec 5th 2019, 10:28 AM

    @Albert Brennerman: They are doing the same with us Magdalene women and now want to seal the files for 75 years to cover up, so we can’t get to the truth.

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    Mute Marian O Sullivan
    Favourite Marian O Sullivan
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    Dec 5th 2019, 11:12 AM

    While most understand a smear cannot be 100%. The reactions and accountability should be 100%. Its excuse after excuse. Pretend to change and improve but in reality just lie and brush it off again.

    69
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    Mute Jessie Ginger
    Favourite Jessie Ginger
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    Dec 5th 2019, 11:39 AM

    @Marian O Sullivan: “It found that there were missed opportunities to prevent or diagnose cancer earlier in the cases of 159 women”

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    Mute paul gurney
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    Dec 5th 2019, 10:46 AM

    yet another bluster by Leo”s crooked administration…its time they were removed.Crocodile tears and apologies and yet still dragging women through the courts…

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    Mute Lyndsay Rehn
    Favourite Lyndsay Rehn
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    Dec 5th 2019, 10:59 AM

    @paul gurney: . False promises to women not having to go to courts. Women’s lives don’t seem to matter to them or the loss of a mother the devastation to her family. I simply don’t trust anyone in Cervical Check I can’t

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    Mute bb16ww
    Favourite bb16ww
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    Dec 5th 2019, 12:43 PM

    I do not understand why the women of Ireland are not protesting regarding the way the health system and various governments (mainly male run) have treated them. Magdalen laundry, unnecessary hysterectomys, access to family planning, cervical cancer, inprisoned for being pregnant. For the love of god get out there support one another and unite in massive numbers.

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    Mute @mdmak33
    Favourite @mdmak33
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    Dec 5th 2019, 11:21 AM

    Mr Harris is taking a hand at these people that are suffering because of his cover up to protect the FG party.

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    Mute Eileen O'Sullivan
    Favourite Eileen O'Sullivan
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    Dec 5th 2019, 11:36 AM

    Shame on Fine Gael.

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    Mute Pat Kelly
    Favourite Pat Kelly
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    Dec 5th 2019, 11:59 AM

    How does this country get away with this

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