Consultant says he forgot to give Ruth Morrissey audit results for two years
A consultant who did not inform Ruth Morrissey for nearly two years of the audit results of her smear slides which showed they had been incorrectly reported as negative today told the High Court he forgot to do so.
Consultant obstetrician, Dr Matthew Hewitt said when he met the now terminally ill mother in July 2016 soon after getting the information in a letter from CervicalCheck on the audit results, he forgot about the letter filed in the patient’s notes.
“I did not turn back the notes to see the letter to remind me,’ he said.
Asked by Ruth Morrissey’s counsel Jeremy Maher SC how he simply forgot, Dr Hewitt said he has hundreds of letters coming all the time relating to cancer diagnosis.
“I can’t say I remember every single letter,” he added.
Counsel put it to him that if she had been told about the audit results in 2016, Ruth Morrissey would have got a scan and treatment and in all probability, would now be facing life rather than death.
Dr Hewitt said he disagreed.
“I don’t believe the cancer would have been necessarily visible or present,’ he stated.
At the outset of his cross-examination today, Mr Maher asked Dr Hewitt if he would like to say anything to Ms Morrissey.
Dr Hewitt replied: "I completely acknowledge it is awful she has had a recurrence.”
Counsel asked was there anything else?
Dr Hewitt answered: “I wish her all the best.”
Counsel put it to Mr Hewitt he will be alive in two years' time and he asked what of Ruth Morrissey’s life.
Dr Hewitt said: “I think it is going to be shortened.”
Asked if he accepted he had a part to play, Dr Hewitt said he was involved in her treatment and he did not miss the cancer recurrence.
Asked what prompted him to tell Ms Morrissey in May last year of the audit results, Dr Hewitt said there were instructions from the HSE to tell patients immediately.
He said when the first letter came from CervicalCheck in January 2016, there were no clear instructions and he did not feel it necessary to tell patients and it was a screening test, not a diagnostic test.
He said he changed his mind later as he became uncomfortable with having the information.
Asked did he accept that Ms Morrissey had raised the possibility of a scan on three occasions, Dr Hewitt said it would not surprise him because patients frequently asked.
He said if he felt it was affecting their patient-doctor relationship or the well being of the patient he would do a one-off scan - not for clinical reasons, but to reassure the patient.
He said there was no evidence MRI or CT scans were of any benefit in such cases.
This was for a number of reasons; it could give false positive results, which could lead to patients having potentially invasive, unnecessary procedures.
He said he did not think we can ascertain exactly when Ruth Morrissey had the recurrence.
Asked did he agree Ruth Morrissey was a case apart, Dr Hewitt said she was a patient who had a trachelectomy but he did not think she was different clinically from anybody else he managed.
He said he didn’t believe Ms Morrissey was at a higher risk of recurrence based on the fact that the original tumour was small and the depth was not one to make her high risk.
He told the court that scans are not part of a routine follow up.
Asked by HSE Counsel Patrick Hanratty SC if the manner of his follow up in Ruth Morrissey's case departed from international guidelines, Dr Hewitt replied " none whatsoever."
The case before Mr Justice Kevin Cross continues tomorrow.
