12:33 Update: The Health Minister says missed cancer diagnoses in Wexford seems to be isolated to one clinician.
A report released by the HSE this lunchtime also confirmed that all colonoscopy patients under the care of an individual consultant at Wexford General Hospital between March 2013 and November 2014 were written to and received a follow-up phone call from liaison staff working within either WGH or BowelScreen.
Wexford General Hospital is under the spotlight today as it's emerged that 13 Cancer cases may have been missed by a consultant there.
A review, due to be published later, will say the Cancers weren't noticed during colonoscopy screenings.
Hundreds of colonoscopies at Wexford General Hospital have been examined by external experts hired by the HSE.
They were called in after concerns were raised about the conclusions drawn from routine tests.
Reviewers found that 13 patients had Cancers that were either missed in the original screenings, or developed since then.
They were all under the care of the same consultant, who's been on leave since the issue emerged 2 years ago.
The hospital has apologised to patients.
The published review is expected to highlight any potential flaws in their quality assurance measures.
Fianna Fáil TD for Wexford James Browne says the HSE needs to provide certainty for patients over the standards of its cancer screening programme at Wexford General Hospital.
“Last year it was revealed that around 600 patients who received cancer screening at Wexford General Hospital were being recalled due to concerns that their cases were not dealt with correctly. This review found that 2 cases of bowel cancer were missed arising from colonoscopies carried out at the hospital in 2013 and 2014,” said Deputy Browne.
“At the time the HSE assured patients that all cases had been thoroughly and comprehensively investigated. However now it transpires that a further 11 cases of possible misdiagnosis have been identified, bringing the total to 13 cases. This is deeply concerning and comes as a shock to the patients and their families.
“I’ve written to the Minister for Health Simon Harris and have asked him to investigate this issue,” concluded Deputy Browne.
